If I told you that you could have breast cancer without ever having any palpable lumps in your breasts, it might be difficult for you to believe. However, one rare form of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer or IBC rarely causes the solid lump tumors that we’re used to hearing about. In fact, this type of breast cancer typically forms as sheets or webs of tumor that are difficult to detect.Breast self-exams and mammograms offer little to no value in diagnosing IBC. Correct diagnosis of this type of breast cancer is rare the first time a woman visits her healthcare provider when she has the signs and symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer. It is quite common that women with IBC first receive a diagnosis of infection in the breast one or more times. Sadly, because this type of breast cancer is the fastest growing type, by the time diagnosis occurs inflammatory breast cancer has usually reached its’ later stages.