The Unknown Killer
by Cindy Walker

Breast cancer. Those are two words every woman dreads hearing. In one way or another we've all been touched by it, whether it be getting the disease ourselves or knowing a loved one, friend, or co-worker who struggled with or is currently struggling with it. Everywhere you turn these days, breast cancer awareness is all around. We see the stream of public service announcements, commercials for support groups; we're bombarded with information on early detection and self-examination, what to look for, treatment, recovery, and on and on. It's drilled into our heads to look for a lump. “Breast cancer” and “lump” seem to be synonymous. We get lulled into a false sense of security that if there is no lump, then there is no cancer and no problem.

Guess again. Did you know there is another, deadlier type of breast cancer that doesn't have that dreaded lump? A breast cancer that can't be detected by mammograms, and whose symptoms can fool even doctors? It's known by several names, but the most common is Inflammatory Breast Cancer, or IBC. This form of cancer is so terrible that when it is diagnosed, it is automatically put into a Stage IIIb or Stage IV category. Being put into a Stage IIIb category of invasive breast cancer means a tumor of any size has spread to the breast skin, chest wall, or internal mammary lymph nodes which are located beneath the breast right under the ribs, inside the middle of the chest. To be put into the Stage IV category of invasive breast cancer means a tumor has spread beyond the breast, underarm, and internal mammary lymph nodes as well as possibly spreading to the lymph nodes located at the base of the neck, above the collarbone, lungs, liver, bone, or brain.* (source: www.breastcancer.org)

Surprisingly, when trying to do my research for this article, I found very little about IBC. There are only a handful of websites dedicated to the disease, and an even smaller amount actively working toward raising money for research into finding a cause and cure for IBC. One of the best sites I came across was www.ibcresearch.org. It has a lot of information, and along with trying to raise awareness regarding IBC and educating the public as well as the medical professionals, they also help fund research into finding a cause and a cure for IBC. Another great site that was started by Menya Wolfe, who herself was diagnosed with IBC, is www.ibcsupport.org. Unfortunately, after a five year struggle, Menya lost her battle with IBC in 2001. However, her husband, Pete Bevin, continues the website. It is a wonderful site that is absolutely loaded with information and given in a way that is understandable instead of a lot of medical jargon that you have to try and decypher.

So what exactly is IBC? In the words of the IBC Research website, it is an advanced and accelerated form of breast cancer that is usually not detected by mammograms or ultrasounds. Rather than being a confined, solid tumor, it usually grows in sheets or nests, and it can spread throughout the breast with no tangible mass. In IBC, cancer cells block    more >>