A special report by TV station KOMO of Seattle, Washington, on May 7, 2006, has generated an incredible amount of publicity for IBC, inflammatory breast cancer. And that’s a very good thing: this rare form of aggressive breast cancer is often quite advanced by the time it’s diagnosed, simply because most women don’t recognize its symptoms.

The report, whose inspiration was a Redmond, Washington mother spreading the word about IBC on behalf of her dying daughter, was originally seen only by...