You
will have heard of Paget's Disease, a serious bone disease, but many of
you will not have heard of Paget's Disease of the breast, so I am
hoping that the ladies out there reading this article will take notice
of the content, because they could come in touch with this disease at
some time.
Many of you will have heard of Paget's Disease, which is a serious bone
disease, but many of you will not have heard of Paget's Disease of the
breast, so I am hoping that the ladies out there reading this article
will take notice of the content, because they could come in touch with
this disease at some time in their life.
What Is Paget's Disease Of The Breast?
It is an eczema type change in the skin of the nipple, and most women that develop it, will have an underlying breast cancer.
Paget's Disease occurs in about 1 or 2% of women that have breast
cancer, it appears firstly as a scaly, red rash affecting the nipple
and the areola. It can be very sore, may bleed and it will not go away.
The disease can be difficult to diagnose, because it can be very
similar to other skin problems like eczema or dermatitis, but this
disease usually affects the nipple first then spreads to the areola,
whereas the other skin problems usually start in the surrounding areas,
first before spreading to the nipple.
I have been asked to include the following in this article, it is taken
from an actual case, where the person with the disease wanted this
message passed on by you, to all the ladies in your life, Mothers,
Daughters, Sisters, Aunts and Friends.
"A lady developed a rash on her breast, similar to that of young
mothers who are nursing. Because her mammogram had been clear, the
doctor treated her with antibiotics for infections.
After two treatments it continued to get worse, her doctor sent her for another mammogram, and this time it showed a mass.
A biopsy found a fast growing malignancy. Chemotherapy was started in
order to shrink the growth; then mastectomy; then a full round of
Chemotherapy; followed by radiation treatment.
After about 9 months of intense treatment, she was given a clean bill
of health. She had one year of living each day to its fullest. Then the
cancer returned to the liver area. She took four treatments and decided
that she wanted quality of life, not the after effects of Chemotherapy.
She 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."
PLEASE be alert to any thing that is not normal.
Her message is shown below:
"Paget's Disease: This is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the
outside of the breast, on the nipple and areola. 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 the
doctor for that. Sometimes, it itched and was sore, but other than that
it didn't 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. Mine started out as a single red pimple
on the areola. 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.
What are the symptoms? The symptoms include:
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.)
A sore on your nipple that will not heal. (Mine was on the areola area with a whitish thick looking area in center of nipple).
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 resembles
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.
This message should be taken seriously and passed on to as many of your
relatives and 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, twenty eight treatments of
radiation and taking Tamaxofin.
If this had been diagnosed as breast cancer in the beginning, perhaps it would not have spread".
TO ALL READERS: This is sad as women are not aware of Paget's disease.
As we all know, early diagnosis is so important with all kinds of
diseases, so if you are in any doubt about any medical problem, for
goodness sake, make an appointment to see a Physician, soon as possible.
If you would like to see more health information, that can help you, Please visit my web site.
