Photo by Lidal-K.

We’re trained to feel for lumps or bumps in our breasts. Breast cancers often start with a single cell that replicates into a lump, but did you know that not all breast cancers form a bump?

Inflammatory breast cancer is easily confused with a breast infection because it attacks the lymph ducts. It causes fluid to back up and turn the skin red or swollen.

Many women mistake this for mastitis which commonly occurs when breast feeding. Inflammatory breast cancer doesn’t respond to medication or traditional infection treatments. And while it’s not common (affecting 1-6% of women in the United States), it is aggressive.

Common symptoms include redness, pain, swelling, thickened and itchy skin, bruising, sudden nipple retraction and warm to the touch nipples. Mammograms and ultrasounds are the imaging of choice for typical breast concerns. However, there are no lumps with inflammatory breast cancer so you would need a breast biopsy.

Please remember that not all skin changes are breast cancer! You may have mastitis, eczema, recent trauma, allergic reaction, psoriasis or a candida infection (particularly under your breasts).

Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we want women to know about all types of breast cancer. If you experience any breast or nipple changes always call your health care provider. This is true especially if you have been self-treating and the symptoms are still not going away.

For more information:

www.cancer.org

www.ibcresearch.org

www.eraseibc.org

Dr. Carrie Jones has practices in Tigard and Sherwood, Oregon where she focuses in all aspects of women's health. She is an adjunct professor at the National College of Natural Medicine, and writes and speaks regularly on the subject of women's medicine.

Photo by wishuponacupcake zoha n.

When it comes to breast cancer women can’t control certain risk factors like their age, genetics, age of first period, and age of menopause onset. Good news ladies: there are just as many things that you can control to reduce your risk of getting breast cancer:

• Estrogen exposure. Your female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, are very much a part of you being a woman but they like to be in balance. When estrogen becomes more dominant, you start to develop symptoms such as PMS, heavier periods, longer periods, cysts and fibroids, and painful breasts. When estrogen goes really crazy, it can actually stimulate breast cancer. Limit your contact with hormones such as the birth control pill or hormone replacement therapy and avoid environmental estrogen-like chemicals such as parabens and plastics. Choose hormone-free meat and dairy.

• Alcohol consumption. It’s true ladies, anything beyond 2 drinks per week raises your estrogen and more than 1 drink per day significantly raises your breast cancer risk.  In fact, the new 2009 American Institute for Cancer Research/World Cancer Research Fund’s report specifically calls out alcohol intake as a problem. Limit your alcohol intake and go for liver friendly foods such as onions, garlic, dark leafy greens, artichokes, beets, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

• Body fat and weight. The same report that discussed alcohol also discusses the link between your weight and your cancer risk. Be as lean as possible within your correct body-mass-index. Fat tissue has the ability to turn testosterone into estrogen so the more fat you have the more estrogen you are producing. Exercising most days of the week and eating a healthy, organic, hormone-free diet full of vegetables, fruits and lean meats can help you reduce your risk.

• Low Vitamin D. When was the last time you checked your levels? Research has shown a direct correlation between low vitamin D and breast cancer risk. Ask your doctor to test your 25,OH,Vitamin D3, and aim for levels above 50ng/ml.

• Diet. The American Institute for Cancer Research/World Cancer Research Fund reported that “38% of cases of breast cancer in the United States could be prevented through diet, activity, and healthy weight.” Cancer feeds on sugar- that’s how it grows. If you stick to a healthy, organic diet (see Forget Food Trends, Eat the Rainbow) then you’ll mostly avoid excess chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, trans-fats and high sugared morsels.

Do what you can to keep yourself healthy and live a long and healthy life.

Reference:  World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research. The Second Expert Report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. Washington, DC: AICR; 2009.

Dr. Carrie Jones has practices in Tigard and Sherwood, Oregon where she focuses in all aspects of women's health. She is an adjunct professor at the National College of Natural Medicine, and writes and speaks regularly on the subject of women's medicine.