Broad Summary Of Male Breast Cancer
When determining the severity of abnormal symptoms in the body and their potential malignancy, it is normally wise to verify a cancer diagnosis from a physician experienced in that field of study.
Armed with an accurate determination, appropriate medical treatments can then be administered to hopefully provide relief - if not heal - the ailment. These steps may be even more critical for lesser-observed afflictions such as male breast cancer.
Men’s breast cancer is rare, but it happens to approximately 2000 men every year with thousands more reporting benign lumps or non-cancerous tissue growth. Men account for approximately one percent of all breast cancer patients. To learn more about male breast cancer, keep reading.
Symptoms of Breast Cancer in Men
Though most lumps or changes in the breast for men are benign (not cancerous) abnormalities, men should still report any major changes, irritations or problems to their doctors as soon as possible.
The major symptoms of male breast cancer include finding a lump in the breast, puckering of the skin, swelling, dimpling of the skin, nipple inversion, nipple discharge, redness, irritation or constant itchiness.
Because men typically have less breast tissue than most women, it is generally easier to find and detect a breast lump on a man’s chest than on a woman’s. However, since breast cancer is so rare in men, many simply ignore these symptoms, allowing the disease to go untreated.
Contributing Factors for Men’s Breast Cancer
Elder Age
Men between the ages of 60 and 70 are the most likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Genealogy
Approximately 20 percent of men with breast cancer have one or more close family members who have or have had the disease.
Exposure to Radiation
Prior radiation exposure (such as treatment for another cancer) can be a contributing factor to male breast cancer.
History of Liver Diseases
The liver works to regulate hormones, meaning men who have survived liver failure or liver disease often have lower levels of androgens, the male hormones. Those low levels can put them at a higher risk for developing breast cancer or non-cancerous tissue growth.
Estrogen Treatments
Men who have been treated with a course of estrogen for other diseases and afflictions (such as prostate cancer) could be at a higher risk for developing male breast cancer. However, the American Cancer Society reports that this risk is relatively small and the benefits of treating and controlling prostate cancer with estrogen outweigh the potential risk.
Klinefelter’s
Klinefelter’s Syndrome occurs at birth when a man is born with two or more X (female) chromosomes. Typically, men have one Y chromosome and one X chromosome.
Men with this syndrome generally have lower levels of androgens and higher levels of estrogen and are therefore at a greater risk for developing male breast cancer.
How Breast Cancer in Men is Treated
Methods for treating men’s breast cancer include surgical removal of the tumor and any cancerous cells, chemo, radiation therapy, hormone therapy or a combination of all these treatments.
Survival rates, particularly for those cases detected early, are good - 96% for stage I diagnosis, 84% for stage II diagnosis, 52% for stage III diagnosis and 24% for stage IV diagnosis.