October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a new national survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) found that most women are unaware of the unusual symptoms of a particularly aggressive and deadly form of the disease known as inflammatory breast cancer.
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, less 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.
The disease can occur in any part of the breast and in any molecular sub-form of the disease. It is often misdiagnosed because it mimics symptoms similar to a breast infection. Those signs include:
- an orange peel-like texture or dimpling of skin;
- feeling of heaviness;
- tightening of the skin;
- engorgement of the breast; and
- infection-like redness.
