Another form of breast cancer

[Guest guest]

I have never heard of anything like this, so thought I would share.

Here's something to think about.

For ALL women (and wives, mothers, sisters and friends)

Important

In Nov. I lost my sister (Betty Botts of Troy, Al.) to a rare kind of

cancer.

She developed a rash on her breast similar to that of young mothers who are

nursing. Because her mammogram had been clear, the Dr. treated her with

antibiotics for infections. After 2 rounds and it continued to get worse,

her Dr. sent her for another mammogram and this time it showed a mass. A

biopsy found a fast growing malignancy; chemo was started in order to shrink

the growth; then a mastectomy; then a full round of chemo; then radiation.

After about 9 months of intense treatment she was given a clean bill of

health. One year of living each day to its fullest-then it returned to the

liver area. She took 4 treatments and decided that she wanted quality of

life, not the after effects of chemo. We had 5 great months and she planned

each detail of the final days. After just a few days of needing morphine,

she slipped away saying she had done what God had sent her into the world to

do and now it was her time to go.

I still have tears as I write, but our message would be-like the one

below-to be alert to any thing that is not normal-and be persistent in

getting help as soon as possible.

ita Bush

Ladies, take note:

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

on the nipple and aureola. It appeared as a rash which later became 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 I went to my doctor for that. Sometimes it itched and was

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

nuisance, and could not be cleared up with all the creams prescribed by my

doctor and dermatologist for the dermatitis on my eyes just prior to this

outbreak. 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 aureola can be breast cancer. What are the

symptoms? Mine started out as a single red pimple on the aureola. 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

infection, 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 or burn much, and had no

oozing. I was 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 aureola area

with a whitish thick looking area in center of 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 have 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 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

importance enough to be announced 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, if you can, take a moment to cut and paste this information into an

e-mail and share it with a friend. It only takes a moment yet the results

could save a life.

R. , Clinical Associate Professor

Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, CB# 7190

UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7190

Phone FAX Email: <lwatson@...

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[Guest guest]

Yikes! I appreciate the warning, thanks!

Kari