Breast
infections include:
1.
Lactational
mastitis. When a woman is breast
feeding, bacteria can get into her milk ducts. Mastitis symptoms include
fever, pain, a lump, and a swollen, tender breast that may feel warm to the
touch.
2.
Non-lactational
mastitis. The symptoms for non-lactational mastitis are the
same as for lactational, but this form of mastitis is much less common.
3.
Subareolar
Abscess. According to Dr.
Susan Love’s Breast Book, an abscess can form behind the nipple and need
draining. Symptoms are similar to mastitis, but the red, swollen area
will be in the areola area, not spread across the breast.
If
you have any of the above symptoms,
you need to see your doctor for two reasons: you will probably need an
antibiotic, and you need to have inflammatory breast cancer ruled out.
Inflammatory
breast cancer represents about 1 %-5 % of all breast cancer cases,
so the chances are that your symptoms that look like an infection are an
infection. IBC symptoms overlap with mastitis symptoms although the red
area with IBC is likely to cover a larger area, usually at least a third of the
breast. In addition, fever is not an IBC symptom.
Why
might your doctor
still be giving you an antibiotic instead of a biopsy?
1.
Not all people run a fever when they
have an infection, so the absence of fever is not a sure indication of cancer.
2.
Even though non-lactational mastitis
is rare, so is IBC.
If
the antibiotic clears up the symptoms, the problem is an infection. Antibiotics
do not cure cancer.
If
the antibiotic does not work, then
what? Some doctors may want to try a second antibiotic at this point, but
most experts on inflammatory breast cancer say waiting to see if another type
of antibiotic will work is not a good idea. Seeing a breast specialist
familiar with IBC. New treatments are helping more people survive this
form of cancer.
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