Because inflammatory breast cancer, or IBC, is rare and is not characterized by a breast lump, most U.S. women do not look for it on self-examination.
Mammography usually fails to detect it in early stages and that's why the rapidly-growing cancer is often not diagnosed until it has already spread elsewhere, according to medical oncologist Dr. Lisle Nabell, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"Cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, causing the breast to become red, swollen and warm," said Nabell.
"IBC's 'signal' symptom is a rough texture to the breast -- called peau d'orange, or orange-peel skin. Women should notify their doctor of any change in breast appearance."
Survival rates for the disease have improved since doctors started treating with chemotherapy, generally followed by surgery and/or radiation, according to Nabell.