Survey finds most women unaware of the signs of inflammatory breast cancer

If you’re like most American women, you probably aren’t aware of the symptoms of one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of breast cancer. That’s according to a recent national survey conducted by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James).

The survey — which was conducted online among 1,100 U.S. women ages 18 and older — revealed that, while 4 in 5 women (78%) recognize a lump in the breast as a sign of breast cancer, fewer than half of women would flag redness of the breast (44%), pitting/thickening of the skin (44%) or one breast feeling warmer or heavier than the other (34%) as possible symptoms of breast cancer, specifically, the rare and highly aggressive form of the disease known as inflammatory breast cancer (IBC cancer).

Inflammatory breast cancer, a ‘sneaky disease’

Inflammatory breast cancer isn’t widely recognized, in part because it’s a rare form of breast cancer and in part because it often masquerades as a breast infection.

“Although inflammatory breast cancer only represents 1% to 5% of all breast cancers in the United States, it is a sneaky disease and challenging to diagnose,” says Ko Un Park, MD, a surgical oncologist who leads a new Inflammatory Breast Cancer program at the OSUCCC – James’ Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center.

And while building awareness of the symptoms for women is critical, so too is the importance of educating the medical community on how to detect the disease.

“It is critical that clinicians have a high level of familiarity with its subtle signs and be prepared to take immediate action to avoid belated diagnosis,” Dr. Park says.

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