Paget's Disease of the Nipple

Question:

From the Breastfeeding Answer Book: Eczema on one nipple that does not respond to treatment may be a symptom of Paget’s disease of the nipple, an uncommon form of breast cancer…

Response:

I received this via personal e-mail today & was wondering if anyone else has ever heard of this? I have no idea who actually wrote this message to begin with, but was wondering about it… Maybe it’s just something worth being concerned about & if that is the case, I am glad to share it with everyone here. If not, sorry Angie full-time step mom to Jeremiah 06/11/88 mama to Jacob 01/28/98 Spread the word! FYI: PAGET"S DISEASE OF THE NIPPLE Is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the outside of the breast, on the nipple and areola, it appears 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 seems any different to me, but the rash bothered me so went to my doctors office for that. Sometimes it itched and was sore but other than that it didn’t really bother me, was just ugly and a nuisance, could not clear it up with all the creams had been given by doctor and dermatologist for the dermatitis on my eyes I had just prior to this outbreak; I therefore went in to doctors office for assistance. They seemed a little concerned but did not warn me it could be cancerous. Now I suspect there are not many women out there who know a lesion or rash on the nipple or areola can be breast cancer. What are the symptoms? 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 infections, leading to unfortunate delays in detection and care. The symptoms include: 1. A persistent redness, oozing, and crusting of your nipple causing it to itch and burn. ( As I stated mine did not itch much or burn, and no oozing that I was aware of, but it did have a crust along outer edge on one side. 2. 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.) 3. 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 resemble 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. They will take a sample of your breast tissue in that area to test for cancer. If the cancer is only in the nipple and not in the breast, your doctor may recommend just removing the nipple and surrounding tissue or suggest radiation treatments. Had my doctor caught mine right away, instead of flaking it off as dermatitis perhaps they could have saved my breast and it wouldn’t have gone to my lymph nodes. This message should be taken seriously and passed on to as many of your friends as possible; it could save someone’s life. My breast cancer has spread and metastasized to my bones, this after receiving mega doses of chemotherapy, 28 treatments of radiation and taking tamaxofin. If this had been diagnosed in the beginning as breast cancer and treated right I did try to spread the word through Rosie O’Donnell show on breast cancer awareness but it failed to trigger importance enough to be announced on her show last year. This is sad as woman are not aware of Paget’s disease. If by passing this around on the e-mail we can make others aware of it and it’s potential danger, we are helping women everywhere. Thanks for taking the time to share.

Response:

:From the Breastfeeding Answer Book: :Eczema on one nipple that does not respond to treatment may be a symptom of aget’s disease of the nipple, an uncommon form of breast cancer… : : Wouldn’t this be skin cancer, not breast cancer? Norma

Response:

I understand your point. The experts might have a reason for calling it breast cancer. One important point about Paget’s is that it occurs on just one side. If a woman has eczema on both breasts, it is just eczema.

Response:

:From the Breastfeeding Answer Book: :Eczema on one nipple that does not respond to treatment may be a symptom of aget’s disease of the nipple, an uncommon form of breast cancer… : : Wouldn’t this be skin cancer, not breast cancer?

No, it is a form of breast cancer, since it is not just on the skin surface, but deeper in the breast as well. Naomi

Response:

I also received this same forwarded email today and did some research on my own to corroborate it: Those interested can read more about it at the following links I discovered. I hope this will help anyone who may recognize any symptoms: Paget’s Disease of the Nipple http://www.aomc.org/HOD2/general/womenshealth- pagets.html OncoLink FAQ: Paget’s Disease of the Nipple http://www.oncolink.com/disease/breast/faq/faq_pag et.html Dermatology Online Atlas (DOIA) Erlangen: Paget Disease, Mammary PubMed medline query http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin- post/Entrez/query? form=4&db=m&term=Paget+AND+Disease+AND+Mammary&dis pmax=20 Paget’s Disease of the Nipple http://www.aomc.org/HOD2/general/womenshealth- pagets.html OncoLink FAQ: Paget’s Disease of the Nipple http://www.oncolink.com/disease/breast/faq/faq_pag et.html Dermatology Online Atlas (DOIA) Erlangen: Paget Disease, Mammary PubMed medline query http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin- post/Entrez/query? form=4&db=m&term=Paget+AND+Disease+AND+Mammary&dis pmax=20 I hope this info will help anyone who may recognize any symptoms. Beatrice Hirano 7-28-99 I received this via personal e-mail today & was

wondering if anyone else has ever heard of this? I have no idea who

actually wrote this message to begin with, but was wondering about it…

Maybe it’s just something worth being concerned about & if that is the

case, I am glad to share it with everyone here. If not, sorry Angie full-time step mom to Jeremiah 06/11/88 mama to Jacob 01/28/98 Spread the word! FYI: PAGET"S DISEASE OF THE NIPPLE Is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the

outside of the breast, on the nipple and areola, it appears 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

seems any different to me, but the rash bothered me so went to my doctors office for that. Sometimes it itched and was sore but other than

that it didn’t really bother me, was just ugly and a nuisance, could

not clear it up with all the creams had been given by doctor and

dermatologist for the dermatitis on my eyes I had just prior to this outbreak; I

therefore went in to doctors office for assistance. They seemed a

little concerned but did not warn me it could be cancerous. Now I suspect there are not many women out

there who know a lesion or rash on the nipple or areola can be breast

cancer. What are the symptoms? 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 infections, leading to

unfortunate delays in detection and care. The symptoms include: 1. A persistent redness, oozing, and

crusting of your nipple causing it to itch and burn. ( As I stated mine did not

itch much or burn, and no oozing that I was aware of, but it did have

a crust along outer edge on one side. 2. 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.) 3. 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 resemble 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. They will take a sample of your breast tissue

in that area to test for cancer. If the cancer is only in the nipple

and not in the breast, your doctor may recommend just removing the nipple

and surrounding tissue or suggest radiation treatments. Had my doctor

caught mine right away, instead of flaking it off as dermatitis perhaps

they could have saved my breast and it wouldn’t have gone to my lymph nodes. This message should be taken seriously and

passed on to as many of your friends as possible; it could save someone’s

life. My breast cancer has spread and metastasized to my bones, this after

receiving mega doses of chemotherapy, 28 treatments of radiation and

taking tamaxofin. If this had been diagnosed in the beginning as breast

cancer and treated right away perhaps it would not have

I did try to spread the word through Rosie

O’Donnell show on breast cancer awareness but it failed to trigger

importance enough to be announced on her show last year. This is sad as

woman are not aware of Paget’s disease. If by passing this around on the e-mail we can