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11109 Parkview Plaza Drive
Entrance 1
Fort Wayne, IN 46845
(260) 266-1000
11050 Parkview Circle
Entrance 12
11108 Parkview Circle
Entrance 10
(260) 266-2000
Parkview Regional Medical Center Campus
11130 Parkview Circle Drive, Entrance 7
11115 Parkview Plaza Drive
(260) 672-6100
2200 Randallia Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
(260) 373-4000
1720 Beacon Street
(260) 373-7500
1316 E. 7th Street
Auburn, IN 46706
(260) 925-4600
2001 Stults Road
Huntington, IN 46750
(260) 355-3000
207 North Townline Road
LaGrange, IN 46761
(260) 463-9000
401 Sawyer Road
Kendallville, IN 46755
(260) 347-8700
10 John Kissinger Drive
Wabash, IN 46992
(260) 563-3131
1260 East State Road 205
Columbia City, IN 46725
(260) 248-9000
1355 Mariners Drive
Warsaw, IN 46582
(574) 372-0070
10622 Parkview Plaza Drive
(260) 266-7701
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Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare, fast-growing type of breast cancer. It is often called IBC for short.
Unlike other breast cancers, this type of cancer may not cause a lump in the breast. So regular breast exams and mammograms often fail to catch it early. Because it grows so fast, it usually has spread by the time it is diagnosed.
Inflammatory breast cancer can cause one or more of these symptoms:
A biopsy is needed to diagnose this cancer. During a biopsy, the doctor takes a sample of the breast or the breast skin. The sample is looked at in a lab to see if it contains cancer cells.
It's very important to diagnose inflammatory breast cancer quickly so that treatment can begin. But because it is rare and usually doesn't make a lump, doctors may not recognize the symptoms right away. The cancer is often mistaken for other problems, like spider bites, an allergic reaction, or mastitis, which is a breast infection that is usually treated with antibiotics.
Antibiotics do not help inflammatory breast cancer. If your doctor has given you antibiotics and your symptoms do not seem to be getting better after a week, call your doctor.
After a biopsy shows that you have this type of cancer, your doctor will order more tests to see if the cancer has spread.
It's very important to treat this cancer as soon as possible. And more than one type of treatment may be needed. Treatment starts with anticancer drugs, called chemotherapy. These drugs help shrink the cancer.
Some tests will be done to help find which medicines will work best for you. These tests look at cancer cells from your biopsy to find out what kind of cancer you have. These tests include:
Estrogen and progesterone receptor status.
The hormones estrogen and progesterone stimulate the growth of normal breast cells, as well as some breast cancers. Hormone receptor status is an important piece of information that will help you and your doctor plan treatment.
HER-2 receptor status.
HER-2/neu is a protein that regulates the growth of some breast cancer cells. About one-third of women with breast cancer have too much (overexpression) of this growth-promoting protein.
Chemotherapy is usually followed by surgery (mastectomy). During surgery, some of the lymph nodes are removed. Afterwards, most women have radiation therapy.
More chemotherapy or hormone therapy (or both) may be used after radiation, especially if cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
Women who test positive for HER-2 may be treated with trastuzumab (Herceptin) during chemotherapy and afterwards.
Talk with your doctor about taking part in a clinical trial. Many women who have inflammatory breast cancer are good candidates for clinical trials, which study new treatments for IBC and better ways to use current treatments.
Second Opinions
You can get a second opinion from Parkview Cancer Institute at any stage along your cancer journey. Start now by calling 833-724-8326.
Learn more about second opinions.
Research & Clinical Trials
Parkview Research Center, in collaboration with Parkview Cancer Institute, provides innovative clinical research, an integral component of advancing cancer care.
View current breast cancer clinical trials.