It was about six weeks from my first symptom (pain and tenderness) to the morning I woke up to an angry-looking red/purple dimpled quadrant of my breast.  You can read the details of my diagnosis in a sharepost I wrote at this link.  I know other women who go from a breast that looks perfectly normal to a red, rock-hard swollen breast over night.  Still other women have symptoms that are more subtle.

When can you relax about this?  I don't know.  I'd recommend trying to start now and trust your doctors' opinions.  As I read your letter, it seems that you have two concerns right now:  an area that looks different on an MRI, and one breast that is larger than the other and a bit puffy.

About the MRI--you need to know that MRI's can have false positives.  One disadvantage of all of our modern screening tools is that they show all the little anomalies that happen in perfectly healthy people--anomalies that we used to never know about because no one was peering into our bodies with technology.  When your doctors do the next MRI, they'll be able to compare and look for changes that will give a better idea of what is going on.

It is very common for women to have breasts that are different sizes.  I don't know what the measurements for cup sizes are.  Notice any difference between the way your bras used to fit and how they fit now.  What happens to most women is that a bra that used to be comfortable is now WAY too tight on one side, or even impossible to wear because of the swelling on one side.

I wish I could tell you that there is no way this could possibly be IBC, but I've read hundreds of stories of women with IBC, and have learned that it is a very sneaky disease.  At this time, you don't have typical IBC symptoms.  The next MRI should give your doctors more information.  I would recommend that you try to live on the assumption that this is not a serious medical matter.  You have been seen by top-notch doctors who are watching your situation.  If new symptoms develop, then go from there.

About a year after I finished my IBC treatment, I developed pain and itching in my left breast similar to my initial symptoms on the right side.  Imaging tests showed nothing, but I didn't find that reassuring.  Imaging tests didn't find my IBC either.  Only the passage of time convinced me that I didn't have IBC again.  What caused my pain and itching?  I have no idea, and neither do my doctors.  Sometimes perfectly healthy people have unexplained symptoms.

Worry can accomplish nothing helpful.  Stay busy and try to put aside your concerns about this for now.  I hope the next MRI brings you good news.

This article by PJ Hamel on fear may help you.  I'd also suggest that you check for changes in your breast no more than once a week.  One of my doctors explained that daily breast checks are counterproductive because then the changes are so gradual that we can't see them.  If there is a huge, dramatic change, you'll notice it when you shower.  The chances that you have IBC are extremely small.  To begin with IBC itself is rare.  Secondly, you don't have typical IBC symptoms.  Finally, several competent doctors concur that this is not IBC.

If you have already had an antibiotic and if it didn't help the swelling, then it is time to be assertive about asking for imaging tests like a mammogram, ultrasound, and/or a MRI depending on your age.  You should also inquire about having a biopsy unless the imaging tests clearly show a benign condition like a cyst.  If the doctor said that you have an infection, but didn't give you an antibiotic, then trying that first before a biopsy is a reasonable step to take.  Be sure to let the doctor know that your condition is getting worse, not better.  Most of the time, symptoms that look like an infection are an infection, but sometimes swelling and redness can be symptoms of a type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer.

Rhonda, although breast infections are more common in lactating women, they can happen at other ages.  Although cancer can be one cause for breast swelling and nipple discharge, it does not usually respond to antibiotics.  (I would say never, but I know some people whose cancer symptoms improved temporarily while on an antibiotic.)  You may find this article on breast pain helpful.  What concerns me about your description is that your symptoms are spreading from the breast up into your armpit and collarbone.  The swelling could be pressing on a nerve, or lymph nodes in your armpit and under your collarbone might be swelling as they try to fight the infection.  I'm not a doctor, so I'm sure there could be all kinds of other causes for your symptoms that I don't know about.  When the doctor asked you to keep an eye on this, she probably intended for you to call back if the symptoms didn't go away or got worse.  It's nearing the end of August and your symptoms started in June, so it seems to me that it's time to see the doctor again.  If you haven't had an ultrasound or mammogram yet, ask about whether those might provide some answers.