Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 11/11/2009

Question
QUESTION: My 15 year old daughter has sx pain tenderness swelling redness of her left breast and was dx with mastitis and put on Keflex tid for ten days. She is not sexually active, yet. Her symptoms came on suddenly and are still exacerbating after 24 hours on Keflex. I am concerned about what i am reading on this subject and what comes up is possible inflammatory carcinoma. Is there something that will help her with the pain and hurry along her recovery? What is the statistic for pediatric inflammatory carcinoma?
Thank you for your help.

ANSWER: An inflammatory breast cancer in a 15 year old girl is, though not impossible, EXTREMELY rare! You can hardly expect recovery of an infection/inflammation after 24 hours of antibiotic treatment. So wait a few days. If there is no recovery after 10 days THEN we can start discussing the diagnosis. At the moment it is very probable that the infection diagnosis is correct! Good luck!


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your answer. Will warm soaks to the breast help to ease the pain and speed recovery>
Is there something else in addition to the Keflex that she can do to help herself. What are some causes of Mastitis in this pediatric population?


Answer
A mastitis is a bacterial infection. The breast milk ducts open up the milk glands (actually transformed sweat glands) to the surrounding air, clothing etc. So infections (bacterial and other microbial infections) can indeed come in from the surroundings just as it can in sweat glands and sebaceous glands (pimples are an example). I'm here ONLY as a cancer doctor and I'm a medical oncologist & radiation therapist not a surgeon. So her treatment for this is outside my area of expertise here. You must discuss her treatment with her surgeon.