IBC breast cancer

Hi ladies, a few ladies say they have IBC breast cancer, as there is a big difference between inflammatory and invasive could you please clarify which type you have. I ask this because for years I was told I had inflammatory but it was misinterpreted and instead invasive.

Love & Hugs Lyn

I have IBC which is always diagnosed at a stage 111b and if its in any of the organs and/bones it will be a stage 4. It does not show on mammo's or cat scan because it is not a lump it imvolves the whole breast. Many times both breasts or will be shortly, bil mastectomies are usually done. Recuurences are much higher with IBC. It has been confused with IDC which is not as aggressive. I am sure you will hear from others. Hugs, Sandy

Thanks Sandy, but IBC still does not say if you are inflammatory or invasive, inflammatory is agressive, rare but deadly and the whole breasts has to be clinically examined, it shows up as red and inflammed, hence the descriptiom inflammatory, and sometimes mistaken for mastitus. I ask this because I had invasive to start with and believe this new reoccurence is inflammatory. My last lymph biopsy was positive but not the same as original cells but similar, which may be the connection to my latest flare up. I have had the mammo and ultrasound just waiting for onc to arrange for me to see a surgeon for positive identification, so I am in limbo. Inflammatory BC is treated differently and that is why I was asking for info.

Love & Hugs Ly,

Dear Lyn,

Hi, my name is Martha and I am in fact a 34 year old who was diagnosed with IBC in May of 2003.

I noticed you trying to gain information on IBC as compared to invasive BC. IBC is invasive breast cancer. The word invasive does don't distinguish a specific kind of cancer; it's just a word used to describe the type of the cancer. Invasive: basically means that it will if fact seek and attack other organs and bones. It means that it is a very aggresive type of cancer. Which, IBC does happen to be.

Your pathologist will be able to identify your cancer by it's cells. This would be the only sure way of knowing what kind of cancer you have. You can learn a lot more about IBC by going online simply doing a search on IBC, you'll get a ton of info.

Good luck on your results, Martha.

Martha, you explained that IBC is invasive and invasive will attack organs and bone then you said IBC is not that. Did I misunderstand something here or is it the way you said it.? I was told that IBC is the worse BC one can have and the most deadly. There is IDC and IBC and they are not the same. I have IBC. Hugs, Sandy

Generally I would say that when the cancer is referred to as IBC, 99% of the time it is meant as Inflammatory Breast Cancer ( which I do have) and not any other type of invasive breast cancer.

Thanks Ann, I believe it has its own catagory that is why it is specific to stage 111b. No other cancer is stage 111b. So if someone tells you they are stage 111b then that will tell you they are IBC. If they are diagnosed IBC stage 4 then they have mets. Hugs, Sandy

Thanks Martha, this is confusing, on my histology report IBC was actually the short meaning for Invasive Breast Cancer which I had in the left breast. I was under the ipression for years I had inflammatory breast cancer until my onc read my oprigina report and told me that a conclusion from my report would not have diagnosed me as having inflammatory breast cancer and I was not clinically reported as having it, and I certainly wasn't being treated for inflammatory BC, yet that one misunderstanding by a professor had me terrified for years and now I am confronted with my other breast which does not look like the one removed but more like the pictures on the net for inflammatory breast cancer. Just that one short cut IBC can mean a big difference to your state of mind.

Love & Hugs Lyn

Hi,I have IDC,plain ordinary IDC but I've got mets coming out of my ears[literally!]
The two girls in our YWG with IBC are doing better than me!Funnily enuff they are both called Heather and I know another heather with IBC too,how weird is that?
One girl is 4 yrs out and doing great on herceptin[she had a skin met recurrance in 2001 but dealt with]
I know another lady on another website who is 12 or 13 yrs from her IBC dx and never recurred.
I've read that if you get 5 yrs from dx IBC is unlikely to recur as it would have before then if it was going to?
love Ali xxxxxxxxx

Actually Stage !!!B is not a category just for IBC. The staging refers to tumor size, node involvement and metastisis. I have encountered other women who were staged at !!!B and did not have IBC, however, IBC is never staged at anything less than !!!B.