Many of you have heard of Paget's disease, a serious bone disorder, but many of you have never heard of Paget's disease of the chest. You may be exposed to this disease at some point in your life.
What is Paget's disease of the chest?
It is an eczema-like change in the skin of the nipples and most women who develop it have breast cancer.
Paget's disease occurs in about 1 to 2% of women with breast cancer and initially presents as a red, scaly rash that affects the nipple and areola. It can be very painful, it can bleed, and it never goes away.
This disease can be difficult to diagnose because it looks very similar to other skin problems such as eczema and dermatitis, but the disease usually affects the nipples first and then the breasts. Spreading in circles, other skin problems usually start in the surrounding area, first before spreading to the nipple.
I have been asked to include the following in this article. This is from a real-life case where a sick person wanted this message from you to all the women in your life: mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts...and friends.
A woman developed a rash on her chest that resembled her nursing young mother. Her mammogram was normal, so her doctor treated her with antibiotics to prevent her infection.
After her two treatments, she became progressively worse and her doctor ordered her another mammogram, this time showing her a mass.
Biopsy revealed a rapidly growing malignancy. Chemotherapy was started to suppress growth. Then mastectomy. Then a full round of chemotherapy. followed by radiotherapy.
After about nine months of intensive care, she received an impeccable medical certificate. She had to live each day to the fullest. Her cancer has since returned to the liver area. She underwent four treatments and decided she wanted quality of life, not chemo side effects.
She had an amazing 5 months and planned all the details for our last few days.
Only days after needing morphine, she slipped away and said that God had sent her into the world.
Your message is displayed below. It looked like a rash and later turned into a crusty-edged lesion. I never thought I had breast cancer, but I did. I didn't feel any change in my nipples, but the rash bothered me so I went to the doctor.
It was just ugly and annoying and could not be removed with all the creams my doctor and dermatologist prescribed for my eye dermatitis just before this occurrence. Looked. I started out as a single red pimple on my areola. One of the biggest problems with Paget's disease of the nipple is that the symptoms seem harmless. It is often assumed to be an inflammation or infection of the skin and unfortunately is under-detected and treated.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms may include:
- Persistent redness, swelling, or crusting of the nipples causing itching and burning. (As I said, mine didn't itch or burn much and didn't bleed which I was aware of, but there was a scab on the outer edge of one side)
- Nipple wound that won't heal. (Mine was in the areola area and had a whitish-thick-looking area in the middle of the nipple).
- Usually, only her one nipple is affected. How is it diagnosed? Your doctor should perform a physical examination and immediately suggest mammograms of both breasts.
- Redness, bleeding, and crusting are very similar to dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), but if only one breast is sore, the doctor should suspect cancer. A doctor should order a biopsy of the wound to see what's going on.
Please take this message seriously and share it with as many family and friends as possible. It May Save Someone's Life.
After undergoing heavy doses of chemotherapy, 28 radiation treatments, and tamoxifen, my breast cancer metastasized and spread to my bones.
If I had been diagnosed with breast cancer from the beginning, it might not have spread.
To all readers: This is sad because women are unaware of Paget's disease.
As you know, early diagnosis is very important in all kinds of diseases. So, if you have any doubts about a medical problem, just in case, see your doctor as soon as possible.
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