New Delhi: A woman was diagnosed with a rare “flesh-eating” illness as well as breast cancer after going to the hospital with intense discomfort and foul-smelling discharge coming from her right breast.

According to a case report published on April 26 in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science by health professionals from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the woman spotted a breast lump six months before going to the hospital and followed her family’s advise to cure it with a homoeopathic medication. They claimed that the name of the treatment she received was not noted.

The woman was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer as well as necrotizing fasciitis, a potentially fatal flesh-eating condition.

According to them, the patient’s decision to use homoeopathy as his primary treatment may have caused a delay in cancer detection. Homeopathy does not have any scientific evidence that it may prevent or treat cancer.

While there is no proof that homoeopathy does harm in and of itself, it “may hinder individuals from receiving proper therapy,” according to Jayant Vaidya, a professor of surgery and cancer at University College London.

Breast flesh-eating infections are uncommon:

Although necrotizing fasciitis is uncommon, especially in the breast, it can spread swiftly and kill 20% of those who contract it, according to study. A combination of strong antibiotics and immediate surgery to remove the dead tissue is the treatment. It is unknown how she contracted the virus.

The limbs and the area between the genitals and the anus are commonly affected. Only a few cases of this flesh-eating infection in the breast have been reported, and they usually occur after trauma, such as surgery, that permits germs to infiltrate the breast tissue. Patients with necrotizing fasciitis are typically diabetic or immunocompromised, while it has also been recorded in healthy persons.

According to the article, the woman was given antibiotics and had her right breast removed because she had diabetes and high blood pressure.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy were used to treat her cancer, according to the doctors who wrote the report.

Symptoms of breast cancer:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the second most frequent cancer in the United States.

A new lump in the breast or armpit; breast pain; any change in the size, shape, or colour of the breast; nipple alterations such as discharge or discoloration; and skin changes are all things to be aware of.