IMPORTANT (WOMEN AND MEN): Paget's Disease: Cancer of the Nipple

[Guest guest]

I received this from a friend and wanted to pass it on. As breast cancer can

occur in women and men, I am including men in this mailing.

PAGET'S DISEASE: CANCER OF THE NIPPLE

This a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the outside of the breast, on

the nipple and areola. It appears as a rash which later becomes a lesion

with a crusty outer edge. I would not have ever suspected it to be breast

cancer but it was. My nipple never seemed any different to me, but the rash

bothered me so went to my doctor's office for that. Sometimes it itched and

was sore but other than that it didn't really bother me, was just ugly and a

nuisance, and would not clear up with all the creams given by doctor and

dermatologist for the dermatitis on my eyes that had just had prior to this

outbreak.

Therefore I went in to doctors office for further assistance. They seemed a

little concerned but did not warn me it could be cancerous. Now I suspect

there are not many women out there who know a lesion or rash on the nipple or

areola can be breast cancer. What are the symptoms? Mine started out as a

single red pimple on the areola. One of the biggest problems with Paget's

disease of the nipple is that the symptoms appear to be harmless. It is

frequently thought to be a skin inflammation or infections, leading to

unfortunate delays in detection and care.

The symptoms include:

1. A persistent redness, oozing, and crusting of your nipple causing it to

itch and burn. (As I stated mine did not itch much or burn, and no oozing

was I aware of, but it did have a crust along the outer edge on one side.

2. A sore on your nipple that will not heal. (Mine was on the areola area

with a whitish thick looking area in the center of my nipple)

3. Usually only one nipple is affected. How is it diagnosed?

- Your doctor will do a physical exam, and should suggest having a

mammogram of both breasts done immediately. Even though the redness, oozing

and crusting closely resemble dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), your

doctor should suspect cancer if the sore is only on one breast.

- Your doctor should order a biopsy of your sore to confirm what is going

on. They will take a sample of your breast tissue in that area to test for

cancer. If the cancer is only in the nipple and not in the breast, your

doctor may recommend just removing the nipple and surrounding tissue or

suggest radiation treatments. Had my doctor caught mine right away, instead

of flaking it off as dermatitis perhaps they could of saved my breast and it

wouldn't have gone to my lymph nodes.

This message should be taken seriously and passed on to as many of your

friends as possible, it could save someone's life. My breast cancer has

spread and metastasized to my bones, this after receiving mega doses of

chemotherapy, 28 treatments of radiation and taking tamaxofin. If this had

been diagnosed in the beginning as breast cancer and treated right away

perhaps it would not have spread. I did try to spread the word through Rosie

O'Donnell show on breast cancer awareness but it failed to trigger enough

importance to receive an announcement on her show last year. This is sad as

women are not aware of Paget's disease.

If by passing this around on the e-mail we can make others aware of it and

it's potential danger we are helping women everywhere.

PLEASE SEND THIS TO ALL THE WOMEN YOU CARE ABOUT; CANCER CAN BE FOUGHT IF WE

ARE ALL AWARE!

Thanks for taking the time to share.

Carol A. McNamara-

Law Firm Administrator

Hellmuth & , P.A.

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