October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month which encourages women to go for regular checkup to detect cancer earlier and save lives. There are even free screenings so that those with low budget have no excuse, as reported by CDA News.

However, inflammatory breast cancer eludes diagnosis more often.

That was the case of newly wed Sarah Killion, 27, from Fort Worth, Texas. She did not give much attention to a red and swelling breast for months; and she got some assurances from doctors that it was just an infection because she was young. However, a biopsy revealed inflammatory breast cancer.

While in clinical trial, Killion wants to educate others about the fast-spreading cancer, which is oftentimes missed in usual screenings.

Speaking to Today, Killion said, "I believe this disease is not as rare as everyone says it is - it's just misdiagnosed all the time."

She continued, "The aggressiveness of this cancer cannot afford to be put off or just a wait and see what happens."

Killion's stepmother, Suzanne George, 52, said she never heard about inflammatory breast cancer; and so have many physicians because its symptoms differ from the usual breast cancer, hence, more difficult to diagnose, the American Cancer Society said.

About 4,000 Americans are affected by the inflammatory breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, it happens at younger ages, unlike other more typical breast cancers.

Its unique symptoms include inverted nipple, as well as hot to the touch and red skin. Oftentimes, there is no lump so a mammogram cannot detect it. A doctor may suspect infection such a mastitis and prescribe antibiotics. This can be a waste of precious time as the cancer can already spread.

Inflammatory breast cancer is rare as it is only 2 to 4 percent of all breast cancers, but it has a very high mortality rate, said The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic executive director Dr. Naoto Ueno.