Information

Common IBC Symptoms:

  • A swollen breast
  • a painful breast
  • incessant itchy breast
  • a rash on one breast
  • a bug bite that won't go away
  • nipple changes
  • a hardened area in the breast similar to a pencil lead, not a lump
These symptoms may appear overnight without warning. If they do not go away with creams, ointments or antibiotics, demand that your doctor rule out IBC.

Things You need to know:
Mammograms usually don't pick up IBC because so often there is no lump.

Why - Reason #1
Doctors misdiagnose Inflammatory Breast Cancer as a breast infection or mastitis.

Why - Reason #2
We need to push this message across the country.

Who..
Our group of dedicated advocates are, and a brief message about each one of us.

Tips:
These are TIPS that doctors and patients have given to people dealing with first symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer, plus TIPS from patients who have gone through chemotherapy.

  • Insist that your physician take your temperature at initial exam. Mastitis is often accompanied by an increase in body temp, while IBC is not.

  • Any sudden changes to your breast (sometimes overnight), swelling, constant itching, pain or discoloration need to be taken seriously. See your Doctor.

  • We are told to look for a lump. Not so normally with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. An overnight swelling of the breast, pain, itching that will not go away with creams or ointments, should be checked by a breast specialist. And please be your own best advocate. It could save your life.

Medical Disclaimer

The information contained on the 'eraseibc.com' web site is presented for the purpose of educating people on Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Nothing contained on this web site should be construed nor is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider. Should you have any health care related questions, please call or see your physician or other qualified health care provider promptly.


Follow Us On FaceBook

 

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass....It's about learning to dance in the rain"
Andy Rooney

 

Helpful Links for patients and caregivers

Here is a link to decifering the results of your lab tests:
LabTestsOnline

CANCER101 provides Planners to cancer centers in all 50 states to give to their patients and caregivers in need. The CANCER101 cancer planner is designed to help newly diagnosed patients, those with metastatic disease, a recurrence and even survivors who are interested in managing their follow-up appointments.
CANCER101.org

Education is the MOST powerful tool

in the fight against misdiagnosis and improper treatment of Inflammatory Breast Cancer..

Our Foundation's mission is to educate the public and the medical community when needed, that this form of breast cancer is different and is rarely picked up by mammograms.

Towards this mission, the third Wednesday of the month our radio show, called IBC FACT & FALLACIES, will dispel the myths and help educate our listeners.


Important words from an IBC specialist:
"Women with IBC are warriors not patients or survivors. They continue to fight this horrible disease by advocacy and education. Their passion to stop IBC has directly saved the lives of countless women by raising awareness. Because of them the number of researchers studying this disease continues to increase and the scientific community is becoming more aware of the urgency underlying this aggressive cancer. Women with IBC often feel isolated and disenfranchised from the rest of the breast cancer community. Currently non-IBC has a 5-year disease-free survival rate approaching 90% therefore, the focus and discussion is on improving survival rates beyond 20 years. IBC has a 5-year disease-free survival rate that is less than half of that for non-IBC (~42%) thus any improvement would be welcomed by the IBC community."  ~ Dr. Kenneth Van Golen

New Developments!

Breaking news on the new blood test that is successfully detecting stray cancer cells, here is a link to more information. Check it out, it is exciting to see progress being made.

Click here for the whole story

EXCITING NEWS: AT LAST more attention and education is being recommended for physicians. A powerful new paper will be published next month stating that IBC needs its own clinical determination. We know that with the high incidence of misdiagnosis many physicians are still unaware of its specific symptoms. This is a wonderful step in the fight to change that, here is a link to the article.

Medical News Today

You can also find this information on our blog. Click Here

KOMO TV, Seattle Washington, The Original "Silent Killer" Video

 

The above educational video, which has circled the internet since May of 2006, plus the many stories Michelle Esteban has done since, have moved IBC past the word rare. KOMO TV in Seattle Washington put in motion an amazing eye opening experience for millions of viewers. Michelle has continued with a series of stories regarding IBC, winning Emmy's for her contribution to our cause. Beside Michelle is Jon Knorr, her phenomenal cameraman, who has been incredibly sensitive to the issue and with remarkable patience. We all want to thank him. Also, without Fisher Communications studios, (KOMO) none of the pieces that have garnered so much attention across the U.S. and the world would ever have taken place. Thank you to the entire team.

Join Us

The Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation, with its coalition of strong voices can advocate for "appropriate research" in the field of diagnosing and treating this under-reported disease.

Join us in our crusade to tell everyone you come in contact with, there is a breast cancer we are not told about. Help us spread the word so that no woman says, "I didn't know there was another type of breast cancer" and "what is Inflammatory Breast Cancer?" You could save someone's life.


Thank you for visiting, and please share your thoughts in our blog. We are here to help.

Call our toll free line: 1-866-944-4223
or write us: info@eraseibc.com with any questions or comments.

We are a Federal 501(c)(3) charity.