Legislation is now pending before Congress known as the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, the purpose of which is to require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48 hour hospital stay for patients undergoing mastectomies.  It addresses situations in which some insurance companies have previously encouraged the dubious practice of "drive-through mastectomy procedures" where women are forced to go home only hours after surgery, often against the wishes of their doctors, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Call to Action

The Lifetime Television Network has put information about this bill on their web site along with an opportunity for you join their petition drive and show your support for this measure.

After reviewing the information at the following web site, we would encourage you to sign their petition and join in helping women living with breast cancer get the care they need and deserve.

071005

We'd like to give full credit to KOMO-TV in Seattle, Washington, for recently airing an important news story on Inflammatory Breast Cancer, a broadcast that since has produced well over 10 million visits to the TV station's web site. 

"Why so much interest?" you may wonder.

Little known to the majority of us is the fact that Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive, fastest-growing form of breast cancer.  It has a faster doubling time than most other breast cancers.  Further complicating the issue is the fact that the initial appearances of IBC are often very misleading.

You're invited to take only six minutes right now and watch the original video of the news story aired by KOMO-TV.  Once you have viewed the video, please return here and considering visiting some of the additional informative links on this vital topic that we've provided farther down on this page.

Click on the logo to launch the IBC video.

KOMO-TV maintains a special section of their web site devoted to information about IBC.  If you want to visit that site, just click here.

As we promised above, presented below are just a few links to additional information about Inflammatory Breast Cancer - diagnosis and treatment.  We hope you will find these helpful as you seek to be better informed about this insidious assault upon women's health.  Just click on any logo to go to the site.

	The Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Center - Excellent information on recent studies of the incidence of IBC plus more detailed information on the disease.
	The National Cancer Institute web site - Excellent Fact Sheet on IBC along with a variety of additional links to specific aspects of the disease and treatment.
	The Inflammatory Breast Cancer Association - a  web site rich in broad range of information.  Follow the links to gain better understanding of the appearance of IBC.
	An additional broad spectrum source for cancer information.
	The Mayo Clinic - one of America's best known health centers - has an excellent presentation on IBC.

Finally, courtesy of The Mayo Clinic, here is a partial list of some of the signs and symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer:

• A breast that appears red, purple, pink or bruised
• A tender, firm and enlarged breast
• A warm feeling in the breast
• Itching of the breast
• Pain
• Ridged or dimpled skin texture, similar to an orange peel
• Thickened areas of skin
• Enlarged lymph nodes under the arm, above the collarbone or below the collarbone
• Flattening or retraction of the nipple
• Swollen or crusted skin on the nipple
• Change in color of the skin around the nipple (areola)

It's easy to confuse the signs and symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer with those of a breast infection (mastitis). Breast infections occur most often in younger women who are breast-feeding. Breast infections cause a fever, and they're easily treated with antibiotics. On the contrary, inflammatory breast cancer doesn't typically cause a fever, nor does it respond to antibiotics.

Always consult a qualified health professional as soon as you observe symptoms similar to any of those listed above.

We invite your feedback on the information presented on this page.  If you wish to write to us, click on the "feedback" graphic and send us your comments using the convenient form.  Thank you.

Disclaimer: A Private Affair makes no claims as to the accuracy or reliability of the information presented in the above listed web sites.  Our customers are advised always to obtain the counsel of a qualified health professional for any issues such as discussed on this page.