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This is a rare type of breast cancer. Only about 1 or 2 breast cancers out of every 100 diagnosed (1 or 2%) are this type. It is called 'inflammatory' because the breast becomes inflamed. The cancer cells block the smallest lymph channels in the breast. The lymph channels (or lymph ducts) are part of the lymphatic system. Their job is to drain excess tissue fluid away from the body tissues and organs.
Symptoms
Because the lymph channels are blocked, the breast becomes
Swollen
Red
Hot to the touch
The breast can also be painful in inflammatory breast cancer, but this is not always the case. Other possible symptoms include
Ridges or thickening of the skin of the breast
Pitted skin, like orange peel
A lump in the breast
A discharge from the nipple
Inverted nipple ? the nipple is pulled into the breast
Inflammatory breast cancer symptoms can come on quite suddenly. It is often confused with an infection of the breast (mastitis) because the symptoms are very similar. You may have been given a course of antibiotics at first, to see if that would clear the condition up. The same tests are used to diagnose inflammatory breast cancer as for any other type of breast cancer. In some cases, it is not possible to do a mammogram because the breast is swollen and painful.
Treatment
The treatment for inflammatory breast cancer can be slightly different than for other types of breast cancer. Usually, chemotherapy is the first treatment you have. This is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy. You have this first to help control the condition in the breast and reduce the swelling. The chemotherapy also travels throughout the body and so will attack any breast cancer cells that have broken away and spread outside the breast.
After chemotherapy, you are most likely to have surgery. Mastectomy is the commonest operation for inflammatory breast cancer - this means removing the whole breast. Or you may be able to have just the affected area removed. This will depend on
The size of the cancer when you were diagnosed
How the cancer has responded to the chemotherapy
Where the tumour is in the breast
You may also have radiotherapy and hormone therapy after your surgery, to try to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. There is more about these treatments and when doctors use them in this section of CancerHelp UK.