Diane,
I wanted to chime in on this discussion and respond to your question "has IBC always been around?" This is not a new type of breast cancer. The earliest article about inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) was published in 1816 by Charles Bell. Klotz, in 1869 and Volkmann in 1875 described "carcinomatous mastitis" occurring particularly in young women during pregnancy and lactation. Finally, in 1924, Dr's Lee & Tannenbaum wrote "Inflammatory Carcinoma of the Breast". This article gives a good overview of the disease examining 28 cases.
As Patti shared, there has been increased awareness in recent years thanks to the efforts of those in the IBC advocacy community. For too long most of us did not survive and there was no voice for the disease. Because it is less common many doctors never see a case.
I am fortunate to be a 15 yr survivor of inflammatory breast cancer and use my patient experience and medical training to push for more research that will improve diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory breast cancer. I'm involved with the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation, www.ibcresearch.org, a non-profit started in 1999 with the dual mission of facilitating research and raising awareness. It's a slow process but it is clear that more people are aware of the disease and prognosis for those diagnosed is slowly improving.
Keep asking questions!!
Ginny Mason RN, BSN
Executive Director
Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation
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Diane,
I wanted to chime in on this discussion and respond to your question "has IBC always been around?" This is not a new type of breast cancer. The earliest article about inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) was published in 1816 by Charles Bell. Klotz, in 1869 and Volkmann in 1875 described "carcinomatous mastitis" occurring particularly in young women during pregnancy and lactation. Finally, in 1924, Dr's Lee & Tannenbaum wrote "Inflammatory Carcinoma of the Breast". This article gives a good overview of the disease examining 28 cases.
As Patti shared, there has been increased awareness in recent years thanks to the efforts of those in the IBC advocacy community. For too long most of us did not survive and there was no voice for the disease. Because it is less common many doctors never see a case.
I am fortunate to be a 15 yr survivor of inflammatory breast cancer and use my patient experience and medical training to push for more research that will improve diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory breast cancer. I'm involved with the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation, www.ibcresearch.org, a non-profit started in 1999 with the dual mission of facilitating research and raising awareness. It's a slow process but it is clear that more people are aware of the disease and prognosis for those diagnosed is slowly improving.
Keep asking questions!!
June 13, 2009 - 12:50pmGinny Mason RN, BSN
Executive Director
Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation
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