Breast cancer In Men
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Underdeveloped as they may be, men too have breast tissues. This means men are prone to developing breast cancer too, just like females, even though their risk is about a hundred times lesser than females. About 1% of breast cancer cases are those of male breast cancer.
When a man has risk factors for male breast cancer, the breast tissues may start developing cancer cells, and he may get breast cancer. There is no age requisite for male breast cancer to occur, however, men between 60 years to 70 years of age are most vulnerable. Exposure to radiation is a common male breast cancer risk factor. Also, the risk goes high if there is a family history of breast cancer. Men with Klinefelter’s disease and cirrhosis have high risks too. Klinefelter’s is when a man abnormally has two X chromosomes instead of one. Cirrhosis comes with high levels of estrogen, which is a big male breast cancer risk factor. Also, men with weight and alcohol problems are more prone to developing breast cancer.
Men who have male boobs should be worried about breast cancer. In most cases, when a man develops breast cancer - whether or not he has male boobs - the cause is hormonal changes - specifically a rise in estrogen, which is contributed to the development of man boobs.
Breast cancer in men is diagnosed in the same way as women are diagnosed. With regard to treatment, there are a number of treatments available to men who have the disease. These include surgery (modified mastectomy), radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. Studies have also shown that the survival rates of men with breast cancer are similar to the survival rates among women.
You should instantly get an enlarged breast or other abnormalities examined. For diagnosis, clinical breast examination, biopsies, mammograms, breast ultrasounds, even nipple discharge examination can be adopted. Mammograms are said to work better in men than in women because females have a dense breast tissue which makes the process difficult. If the biopsy reveals cancer cell presence, getting the breast tissue tested for presence of estrogen and progesterone is a good idea, since these female hormones can stimulate cancer growth, as is the case with 80% to 90% male breast cancer cases, and can be stopped at source.
If the diagnosed breast cancer has not spread outside the original site, that is, if it is in situ, a mastectomy gives great results. If the cancer is invasive, which means it has metastasized outside the site where the cancer started developing, doctors test it to see how much it has advanced. There are four stages, Stage I being the most curable and more reactive to treatment, and Stage IV meaning the cancer has metastasized beyond the stage where a certain cure is possible. This grading helps doctors determine what kind of treatment is needed for you.
For men with Stage IV of invasive breast cancer, chemotherapy, hormonal treatment and radiation therapy become imperative, since metastasis makes cure so hard. Likewise, treating male breast cancer is not very different from treating females with the disease, for any stage of breast cancer
