Living with Inflammatory breast carcinoma
A type of breast cancer in which the breast looks red and swollen and feels warm.
Understanding Inflammatory breast carcinoma
The skin may look pitted, like an orange peel (peau d'orange). The redness and warmth occur because cancer cells block lymph vessels in the skin. It accounts for 1-5% of breast cancer cases in the United States. It tends to be diagnosed in younger women than other types of breast cancer. It can also occur in men, usually at an older age.
Signs & symptoms
Symptoms vary from person to person. GARD describes these:
- Red breast
- Swollen breast
- Warm breast
- Pitted skin, like an orange peel
Not everyone has every symptom. GARD's list comes from the Human Phenotype Ontology.
Diagnosis
- 1Talk with your doctor
Share the symptoms you've noticed, when they started and your family health history. Notes and photos can help.
- 2See a specialist
Your doctor may refer you to a specialist who knows rare conditions.
- 3Ask which tests can help
Your care team will decide which exams and tests can confirm the diagnosis.
- 4Connect with expert centers
Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation may keep lists of experts for this condition.
Care & treatment
- Care team
- A doctor familiar with rare conditions, plus specialists as needed
- Expert care
- Expert lists: Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation
- Treatment
- GARD doesn't list specific treatments for this condition. Your care team will tailor care to your symptoms.
- Research
- Clinical trials and observational studies may be options. See the research section below.
General information, not medical advice. Your care team makes the decisions.
Everyday life
Living with a rare condition is easier with support.
- Connect with Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation and other patient organizations
- Keep notes on symptoms, changes and questions for appointments
- Ask about patient registries that help research
- Look into financial aid and travel resources for care visits
Quick facts
The redness and warmth occur because the cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin. GARD doesn't list a gene or inheritance pattern here.
Also known as: inflammatory breast cancer; inflammatory carcinoma of breast; inflammatory carcinoma of the breast; mastitis carcinomatosa
Patient organizations
- Inflammatory Breast Cancer FoundationInflammatory breast carcinoma · United States
- American Cancer SocietyInflammatory breast carcinoma · United States
- Breastcancer.orgInflammatory breast carcinoma · United States
- Living Beyond Breast CancerInflammatory breast carcinoma · United States
- SHARE: Cancer SupportInflammatory breast carcinoma · United States
- Susan G. KomenInflammatory breast carcinoma · United States
- Tower Cancer Research FoundationInflammatory breast carcinoma · United States
You are more than your diagnosis
Perspectives from people navigating life with Inflammatory breast carcinoma.
Explore research for Inflammatory breast carcinoma
Explore actively recruiting Inflammatory breast carcinoma studies with HealthSpark.
Find actively recruiting studies for Inflammatory breast carcinoma with HealthSpark. Share your city to explore research near you.
- Recruiting studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
- Share your city to look for research near you
- Eligibility is confirmed by the study team
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Powered by HealthSpark, our AI chat helper · Study information from ClinicalTrials.gov · Eligibility is confirmed by the study team.
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