ABSTRACT
Background: Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer related death in female patients admitted in surgical wards of tertiary hospitals. It is common in elderly women and now being reported even in younger patients. Despite enlightenment campaigns patients still present with very late disease. Aim: This is to report five cases of metastatic skin nodules in breast cancer; an auditing tool of the breast cancer awareness campaign. Case Report: The first was a 55-year-old female who presented with a history of generalized skin nodules and progressive weight loss. She was pale and cachectic. Her pulse rate was 110 per minute and blood pressure was 90/50 mmHg. The second was 60-year-old female who presented with right breast lump and and multiple anterior chest wall nodules. The third was a 35-year-old female who presented with a left breast lump. She had excision biopsy and was lost on follow up The fourth case was 48-year-old female who presented with left breast ulcer and multiple anterior chest wall nodules. Lastly, the fifth was a 58-year-old female who presented with left breast ulcer, skin nodules and paraplegia. All cases had metastatic nodules found on the examination at presentation. Biopsy of these nodules confirmed infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Three died while receiving treatment while two were lost on follow-up.Conclusion: Death arising from metastatic cutaneous breast cancer is a good index for surgical audit. The findings of these cases in our environment depict need for more effort in awareness campaign for reducing mortality from breast cancer