SEATTLE -- What started as a rash has turned into a life-and-death battle for Christine Hicks.

Hicks is fighting Inflammatory Breast Cancer -- the most lethal form of breast cancer, according to oncologists.

Doctors have tried everything to stop the spread of the illness inside Hicks, but the cancer keeps coming back. With no more chemotherapy sessions left, Hicks turned to experimental science for an answer.

"I will do every study they will have me for, because I want to be the guinea pig. I want to be the last person in my family who has this illness; I don't want to meet another person who has to go through this.

"Worse case? I expect to contribute to the body of knowledge of IBC. Best case scenario? I'd like to be cured," she said.

Two and a half weeks out of every month, Hicks leaves her family in California and travels to Seattle to be a guinea pig. She is enrolled in a clinical trial at the University of Washington's Tumor Vaccine Group.

Sixteen women are testing a combination of chemotherapy and a topical cream that triggers immune cells to kill cancer lesions on the chest wall.

"It's brutal, because one side of me says, 'That's two and a half weeks I'll never get back, and I may not have many two and a half weeks left,"' she said.

Dr. Lupe Salazar, principal investigator of the tumor vaccine group, says the drug combination seems to be working for patients who get an early diagnosis.

Hicks' battle with IBC began five years ago. By the time it revealed itself in the breast, it had already spread throughout her body.

"We said, 'We've got to find a way to treat this," said Salazar.

"This should have never happened," said Hicks. "If they told women... Yeah, they tell us about lumps. But tell us about a rash, inverted nipples. Tell us about the stuff that IBC does."

Like most IBC patients, Hicks was blindsided by the illness. She said she learned more about IBC through
my special reports than from her primary care physician.

Three years ago, I first reported that IBC is a silent killer as patients had never heard of it and most doctors were misdiagnosing it. My special report reached around the world, and millions of hits even crashed our Web site link.

"Once I found the Web site with the video on it , oh my God, I e-mailed that video to everyone I knew, and I still do," Hicks said.

Hicks' first sign of trouble -- she got a rash on her breast and her areola turned white. Her doctors thought it was a bug bite, which is a common mistake.

Most patients report that one of their breasts doubles in size overnight, and feels hot, red and painful. The nipple inverts, and the breast can develop a dimpled orange-peel texture. Hicks and her family members tell anyone who will listen about IBC.

During her August treatment session, Hicks grew homesick, so her son came to the rescue.

At the time, Hicks didn't know this would be her last days as a guinea pig in the UW's clinical trial. A few weeks later, she learned the cancer was spreading, disqualifying her to test the medication.

"I'm worried about her not being there with my kids, I'm worried about her not being there for my wedding," said her son, Jon Hicks.

"It may not be life-saving for me," said Christine Hicks. "Though disappointing, it's OK. At least I'm giving a framework for who it will help."

But IBC won't get all her tears. Christine Hicks insists the research and laughter will be her legacy.

"Now I know my time is limited and I want my family to remember the fun things," she said. "I want my family to remember the laughter."

Christine Hicks' cancer has attacked her neck and she's fighting back with radiation. Gov. Chris Gregoire has proclaimed October "Inflammatory Breast Cancer Awareness Month." This year, she added the UW's tumor vaccine group for its efforts to stop IBC.