Thanks for posting that. Words of hope from that young woman. These are things we all need to be aware of so we can help those around us. Until Beth's diagnosis, I was completely unaware of this, and I consider myself to be well-informed.
IBC is typically a "younger woman's" breast cancer, so I don't fit the typical demographic. The important thing for women (and men) to remember is to note ANY change to the breast, and don't deal with a doctor who wants to pat your hand and send you home with an antibiotic. You know your own body better than anyone.
Just to add... I keep including men in my comments because some may not be aware that men can and do get breast cancer. The guy who maintains this website is an IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer) and prostate cancer survivor... http://malebc.org/ He is an active advocate for educating men about cancer.
Yup. Male breast cancer is not common, but it happens. I was surprised to hear that IBC primarily affected young women. As I read your thread and Babs' thread, I learn that cancer cells can feed off of hormones. I wonder if that's a factor for the higher incidence in younger women.
In fact, I had some unusual spots on my breast and after Beth's post, I felt the need to check it out. It turned out they were Angiomas, but it made me aware.
I have learned more about breast cancer than I ever wanted to know. First, that there are so many different kinds... I had no idea. The hormone receptor status of a tumor indicates which will be the most effective treatment. If the tumor is hormone-fed, then a patient is given a hormone suppressant, which in younger women will bring on instant menopause. Older women never stop producing hormones, even after menopause. My cancer is not "hormone fed" so the medication that Babs is taking would not benefit me. They are attempting to beat back IBC with chemotherapy before I get a metastasis, which would be a whole new ballgame.
Hah. That's what I believed, but I was wrong. Much to my surprise I had pretty strong hormone markers but my type of breast cancer isn't "fed" by them.
My understanding is that a woman's estrogen levels decline while your testosterone levels increase. So you gotta define "hormones," if I understand correctly.
I've escorted two friends through this stuff, and both only had lumpy fat deposits. You can't languish on this stuff. As Beth said, you can't let doctors diminish your concerns, either. I believe the woman in the story you posted got less-than-perfect advice as she sought a diagnosis. You gotta take charge.
Estrogen levels decrease, but seldom are zero. Another cancer feeder is progesterone. There is also a test for "HER2", which is a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). This protein promotes the growth of cancer cells. A breast cancer patient is either HER2+ or HER2-, and this is also considered when determining a treatment plan.
Cancer Diary Update: Since Friday afternoon, I have had an accelerated pulse rate and lower blood pressure than normal for me. I'm trying to keep hydrated and monitoring my heart rate with my Fitbit. I haven't had any numbers in the "dangerous" levels but these changes are making me feel kind of weird and light-headed. So far none of the side effects has been anything significant, thankfully. My second chemo was scheduled for Tuesday but it has been canceled due to the winter storm. Not sure if they will try to fit me in later this week or if I will just skip a week.
So you already mentioned lower blood pressure as a known side-effect. What about that accelerated pulse rate? Is that a known chemo side-effect, or an understandable situation-reaction?
The pulse rate is a lesser side effect, but many people experience it (according to my search results on the BC forum ). I wonder how much my age and history of PVCs figure into this. At any rate, they said to go to the ER if I faint or have chest pains.