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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare but very |
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aggressive type of breast cancer in which the cancer cells block the |
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lymph vessels in the skin of the breast; and |
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WHEREAS, Individuals with IBC may experience such symptoms in |
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their breasts as redness, swelling, shooting pain, persistent |
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itching, and warmth, which may appear virtually overnight; and |
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WHEREAS, IBC cases risk being misdiagnosed because the |
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symptoms are similar to those of the benign breast infection |
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mastitis, and delay of appropriate care often means a Stage IV |
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diagnosis; and |
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WHEREAS, Although IBC accounts for only one to five percent |
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of all breast cancer cases, it has a faster doubling time than that |
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of other breast cancers; moreover, the lack of expertise about IBC |
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in the medical community and the cancer's resistance to treatment |
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with standard chemotherapy drugs make the five-year median survival |
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rate for IBC approximately 40 percent; and |
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WHEREAS, IBC usually grows in nests or sheets without the |
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usual lump women are told to look for, and because there is no lump, |
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IBC is rarely detected by mammograms or ultrasounds; and |
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WHEREAS, The treatment for IBC differs from other breast |
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cancer treatments, and finding a physician with IBC-specific |
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experience is essential; and |
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WHEREAS, Increasing public understanding of inflammatory |
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breast cancer is the first step toward fighting this devastating |
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disease, and participating in Inflammatory Breast Cancer Awareness |
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Month is one effective way to support that effort; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize October 2011 as Inflammatory Breast |
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Cancer Awareness Month and encourage all Texans to learn more about |
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IBC. |