Inflammatory Breast Cancer

I signed off from my last post with the intent of providing information on how to pick a good supplement company. That was before I was made aware of Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC), and I think that more information on this rare, but critical form of breast cancer, has a higher priority than supplements. We can get to the preventative information after we get the identification information out to our sisters, mothers, aunts and daughters.

While teaching Western Medicine at the SHanghai College of TCM in Burnaby, British Columbia one of my topics was Pathology. Several semesters of pathology could be dedicated to cancer alone, and our time restraints did not offer that luxury, so it was easy to miss the inclusion of IBC in the lessons. The plethora of dis-ease in our society has become so broad in scope it is very easy to miss covering a topic as important as Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

In my medical dictionary breast cancer is described as "A malignant neoplasm (usually an adenocarcinoma) of the breast" and the definition is expanded with statistical information on risk groups and morbidity. There is no mention of IBC as a separate category. Inflammatory is defined as "pertaining to or marked by inflammation". Inflammation is abnormal heat that exceeds the basil body temperature so perhaps it is time to add non-invasive thermography (see below) to the more common screening methods of mammograms (mammography) and ultrasonography.

Although rare it is important to remember that males can also develop breast cancer so it is important that my gender also do periodic Breast Self Examinations (BSE) in addition to our monthly Testicular Self Examinations (TSE).

Breast cancer is usually classified by the kind of tissue in which the cancer starts and by the extent of its spread. In the Merck Manual of Medical Information - 2nd Home Edition there are seven types of breast cancer listed. Inflammatory breast cancer is described as fast growing and often fatal. It adds that cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast, causing the breast to appear inflamed: swollen, red and warm. Usually, inflammatory breast cancer spreads to the lymph nodes in the armpit. The lymph nodes can be felt as hard lumps. However, often no lump may be felt in the breast itself because this cancer is dispersed throughout the breast. Inflammatory breast cancer accounts for about 1% of breast cancers.

Merck goes on to report that "In inflammatory breast cancer, the breast is warm, red, and swollen, as if infected (but it is not). The skin of the breast may become dimpled and leathery, like the skin on an orange, or may have ridges. The nipple may turn inward (invert). A discharge from the nipple is common. Often, no lump can be felt in the breast." "... treatment usually consists of both chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Mastectomy is usually performed."

Although I have not seen any research studies to confirm risk factors of breast cancer in general, it is my suspicion that the rate of breast cancer must be higher in countries where females have been sold the concept that bras are essential. The human lymph system is an important part of our immune system, and the constriction of a "living bra" has to interfere with the normal function (drainage) of lymph. I have been teaching my female patients for years that a daily breast massage is very important to their overall health. I tell them to make it a daily routine with their morning shower. One lady quipped: "My husband paid you to say that, didn't he?" The bottom line recommendations are to not wear a bra any more than you are socially comfortable with, and include a breast massage in your daily routine to assist in lymph drainage.

Mammography is big business, and as unpleasant as they are as far as I've been told, they do offer an opportunity for earlier detection of breast lumps and hopefully a worthwhile screening method. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that the tissue trauma caused by a mammogram may actually contribute to the abnormal growth of breast tissue that may become malignant (cancerous). The thermograph offers a non-invasive alternative to the unpleastantries of the mammogram, Briefly, the thermogram is used to detect abnormal heat clusters in tissue. One of the first physiological changes in tissues associated with an abnormal growth is an increase in vascular (blood flow) activity in the area. The increased blood flow will show up on the thermograph as a "hot spot".

The thermograph procedure involves blowing cold air on the exposed flesh of the breasts to create a better temperature contrast, and then the thermogram is taken to check for any subcutaneous "hot spots". This is not rocket scientry folks - since inflammatory breast cancer is an abnormally hot condition, if there is inflammation present in the breast, it will show up on the thermograph. In most areas you can obtain a thermograph screening for about the same price as a tint and cut at your favourite hair salon.

Good health,
Dr. Bill

Why do I need Vitamins or Food Supplements?

Short answer: Because we need to if we are going to maintain our optimal health.

"We can no longer afford to abuse our health and expect the health care profession to put us back together." - Dr. Bruce Miller

The words vitamin and food supplement have almost become synonymous. I prefer the latter because it better describes their proper function. We want to supplement our body with the nutrients we are unable to obtain through a healthy eating style.

In TCM a first class doctor is one who can treat disharmonies (dis-ease) before they actually manifest - only a second class doctor has to wait for the problem to develop to begin treatment. The only downside to prevention that I can think of is the fact you will never know for sure what you have avoided but if you are curious, observation of your less diligent peers will give you a pretty good idea.

For too many years we have been a society of reactionists. What do I mean by that? It was our primary way of dealing with life - wait for a problem to develop and then react. A small percentage of the population followed the adage: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!" In Canada our socialized medicine has been, and continues to be very supportive of being reactive rather than proactive in our approach to health.

Now this attitude is creating a tremendous strain on our medical system. Our aging baby boomer bulge in the population demographic combined with increased costs of high-tech medicine have created a situation that is not sustainable, regardless of how much money our government du jour is willing to prescribe. Do they actully think improving services such as "shorter wait-lists" will create a healthy turn out at the poles on election day?

The tide is finally turning and millions of health-smart people are turning to wise supplementation. The major problem in today's information overload is where do we turn?

Even though there have been numerous studies that demonstrate and prove our commercially grown crops just do not contain the nutrients we think they do, there are still many people , including some doctors who either believe:

a) Foods that we eat have nothing to do with our health; or
b) Taking Food supplements and /or vitamins is just creating expensive urine.

I suppose we could be naive enough to believe the former concept if we have never consumed a gaseous legume (beans) or a copius quantity of prunes.

Unfortuneatly the latter statement can be true in some cases. There is also the potential to be far more dangerous than expensive urine. Have you ever wondered why a well-accepted manufacturer of children's vitamins would include a proven neurotoxin (aspartame) in the formulation of their vitamin? Read Aspartame - a very dangerous substance!

Some other problems that plague the potential benefits of good supplements are the companies that use slick advertising and promotions to attract customers who do not take the time to research the credability of the manufactureer. Always remember the caveat that if something sounds too good to be true - it usually is!


As a child, my mom wouldn't allow me to leave for primary school without my daily dose of encapsulated cod liver oil. I loved it but my sister thought I was wierd. Of course there was that period in my life where mom's wisdom was placed on the back burner due to my perception of immortality common to most young people. In my teens I had aspirations of becoming a veteranarian and I used to quiz my dad on why we used certain supplements to keep our livestock healthy. Did you know that the science of nutrition in animal husbandry was at least a decade ahead of nutrition for we humans for many years? Do you read your food labels as meticuously as you do those on your pet food? Generally only pets that get fed "table scraps" develop poor health problems that parallel human pathologies.

My competitive nature and quest for perfection initiated my activity in high level sports competition at both a National and International level. World records do not come easy. Success demanded that I fuel my body in the best way that I knew at that time. This pursiut of excellence in sport was a major incentive to obtain sound nutritional information.

In my next blog I will be outlining how you can select a good supplement manufacturer by sharing how I chose the company that I personally use and recommend to my family, friends and my patients.

Good health,
Dr. Bill