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Reported by: Kathryn Barrett

There’s a type of breast cancer so rare that many doctors don't recognize it. It’s so silent, that mammograms don't detect it. Many who learn about the disease say it turns what they know about breast cancer upside down.

We've been conditioned that in most cases, mammograms or self-exams will detect breast cancer. But imagine a breast cancer that isn't necessarily seen on mammograms, resembles a skin rash and is usually advanced by the time it's correctly diagnosed.         

It's inflammatory breast cancer, or IBC. A young Virginia Beach woman was shocked to learn she has the rare but aggressive IBC.

After the birth of her son, Karin Harrell resolved to fight a rare breast cancer she'd never heard of.

Karin Harrell was shocked to learn the diagnosis of breast cancer at the age of 33.

“Honestly, God could not have given me this newborn baby to have me die of breast cancer. It's just that was my driving thought. I did not bring this baby into the world to leave him alone."

Four years ago, the Va. Beach mother was 33, had just delivered her second child and one breast was red, swollen and had a rash.

Doctors suspected mastitis, an infection of the breast that's common in nursing moms.

She was put on antibiotics, but then her OBGYN decided to use IV antibiotics, so she went into the hospital.

The diagnosis of mastitis was wrong.

Her oncologist, Dr. Val Tan with Virginia Oncology Associates in Chesapeake, says that's not unusual when it comes to inflammatory breast cancer.

"They end up being treated very frequently for an infection and what it leads to is a delay in diagnosis of this condition, which can be a very deadly disease," he said.

IBC makes up only one to four percent of all breast cancers. It’s characterized by a warm swollen breast, orange-peel skin that may have an inverted or unusual nipple.

As for detecting it, a mammogram won’t pick it up unless there’s a tumor.

"The cancer is spread out or infiltrating the deeper layer of the skin.  That's why it's more difficult to detect or to feel mass,” explained Dr. Tan.

A bloody discharged led Harrell to have a biopsy, which detected IBC.

"It was devastating. I cried, I cried, I cried,” she admitted.

But with thoughts of her then infant son, Harrell got aggressive.

"I will do whatever it takes to be here for him, and my daughter and my husband,” she said.

It would be a long battle.  She had chemotherapy to shrink the cancer, a full mastectomy followed by six weeks of radiation.

This year, cancer cells appeared in her remaining breast, which was removed.

Her ordeal isn’t over. Dr. Tan says the cancer has spread to Harrell’s bones.

Exhaustion and arthritis stemming from treatment makes her feel older than her 37 years, but Harrell’s optimism is contagious.

"She teaches us courage and strength and she's doing quite well. She still needs a lot of treatment and will probably be on treatment indefinitely for the rest of her life trying to control her cancer," Dr. Tan said.

Karin volunteers with the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life, raising money with her team The Hot Pink Posse.

“I said my little prayers when I was ill and said ‘If I get through this, I will do something to make a difference," she admitted.

She’s also speaking out to tell others what she didn’t know about IBC.  At a breast cancer symposium at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in October, she said she wished she’d started earlier and had known sooner.

But she says caring for eight-year-old Molly and young Brendan keeps her going and she doesn’t forget to care for herself.

It's called "inflammatory" because the breast often looks swollen and red, or "inflamed," sort of like an orange peel skin, and a feeling of heaviness can appear quickly.

Even though the cancer is rare, it is aggressive, and it often strikes young women, meaning that all of us, and our daughters, should be aware of IBC.