Rash and breast cancer

Breast cancer is the uncontrollable growth of malignant cells in the breasts. The exact cause of breast cancer is unknown, but some women have a higher risk than others. This includes women with a personal or family history of breast cancer and women with certain gene mutations. You also have an increased risk of breast cancer if you began your menstrual cycle before the age of 12, started menopause at an older age, or have never been pregnant. Diagnosing and treating breast cancer early offers the best treatment outlook. Talk to your doctor about which breast cancer screening schedule would be best for you.

Eruptions, inflammation, and redness or other discoloration of the skin are all signs of a rash. For a rash on the breasts, it is important to determine if the cause is related to a general skin condition or if it is a sign of a more serious disease such as breast cancer. The rashes listed above are not associated specifically with the breasts—they can appear virtually anywhere on the body, including the breasts. Viral conditions such as measles , chickenpox or shingles could also produce rashes in the breast area. As with the conditions listed above, they are not due to a specific disorder of the breasts.

Rashes have a habit of attracting attention. The skin may react to a number of triggers with redness, swelling, itching, pain, roughness, or other symptoms. Many different factors can cause rashes, ranging from harmless to serious.

Because these problems are much more common than IBC, your doctor might suspect infection at first as a cause and treat you with antibiotics. The possibility of IBC should be considered more strongly if you have these symptoms and are not pregnant or breastfeeding, or have been through menopause. IBC grows and spreads quickly, so the cancer may have already spread to nearby lymph nodes by the time symptoms are noticed.