October 6, 2006 -- This rare form of the disease is getting lots of attention these days. And it deserves it because most women have never heard of IBC.

A news account of several Seattle area women and their struggle with inflammatory breast cancer became the shot heard around the world wide web. It started as a local story out of Seattle but since then has generated more than 10 million web hits and an email chain touching women around the globe.

Barbara Harttraft couldn't be happier about the "buzz". She's been fighting inflammatory breast cancer for 4 years, and striving to make other women more aware of the signs

IBC accounts for less than 5 percent of all breast cancers, so doctors describe it as rare.

However, it doesn't play by the usual rules, there does not have to be a lump.

But there can be symptoms like skin redness, itching, a rapid increase in breast size, skin that's hot to the touch and an orange peel texture to the breast.

Unfortunately, IBC is often confused with infection. And while most breast cancers strike women in middle age and beyond, Dr. Beth Dupree, says that's not the case with IBC. Dr. Beth Dupree/Comprehensive Breast Care: "Inflammatory breast cancer can occur at any age. The youngest person I know is a teenager."

Dr. Dupree learned about IBC early on in her practice, when a patient went from a normal breast to stage 3 cancer in months. She treated that patient aggressively, and 11 years later, she's still alive.

With inflammatory breast cancer, chemotherapy is given before surgery, to stop the lightning-fast cells. Dr. Dupree: "If you give them chemotherapy while they're dividing, you stop the cell cycles very quickly."

Barbara endured the grueling treatments, and seemed to be in the clear. But the cancer has come back. Harttraft: "My lungs, and my right hip, and my right rib cage, have all been detected."

In addition to a new round of chemotherapy, Barbara is battling IBC with information, in a drive dedicated to her teenaged daughter. She spends hours online and takes part in fundraisers with friends she calls her "bosom buddies." They hand out Fireball candies, to show they're "fired up" about beating IBC. Harttraft: "I'm going to fight as hard as I can."

Comprehensive Breast Care
Suite 309
St. Mary Medical Building
Langhorne-Newtown Road
Langhorne, PA 19047
(215) 891-9900