o Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation - Insurance Issues

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.


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.

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

Insurance Issues

Insurance issues come up quite frequently, the first being Social Security information. The National Institutes of Health, Office of Rare Diseases Research, has very good information on Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

From their website it states:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) created the Compassionate Allowance Initiative to speed up the processing of disability claims for applicants with certain conditions. Click on the link to view the Compassionate Allowance information for this condition. More information about applying for Social Security disability benefits is available online.

Link: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/links/0423022200

(The last link above will take you directly to the Social Security website for information on "Compassionate Allowance Information" regarding Inflammatory Breast Cancer).

Social Security Conference call regarding Disability and IBC

There are many resources for people needing help with their care, on a State by State basis. If our Foundation can be of assistance, do not hesitate to call our toll free line at: 1-866-944-4223 and someone will get back with you shortly. You can also write with questions to: info@eraseibc.com