The Internet can be a place of education and activism and the proliferation of parent bloggers joining forces for Team WhyMommy is case in point. WhyMommy at the Toddler Planet blog has turned her personal diagnosis into an opportunity to educate people about the rare and often misdiagnosed Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Because it turns out you don't have to have a lump to have breast cancer and that nursing moms are particularly susceptible to misdiagnosis given the breast changes that occur during breastfeeding.
According to WhyMommy, "Inflammatory breast cancer
is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen
it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000
women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive
five years."
Symptoms to watch for include:
- any unusual breast changes
- redness,
- rapid increase in size of one breast,
- persistent itching of breast or
nipple,
- thickening of breast tissue,
- stabbing pain,
- soreness,
- swelling
under the arm
If you have any of these symptoms, call your OB/Gyn today.
