Whenever you hear the dreaded words ‘breast cancer’, the mind usually goes over how a woman who may be suffering from it. However this may sound surprising but men can get breast cancer too. Many people do not realize that men have breast tissue and that they can develop breast cancer. Cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer and can spread to other areas. Let’s just see how breast cancer even develops.
Breast cancer starts when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control. These cells usually form a tumor that can often be seen on an x-ray or felt as a lump. The tumor is malignant (cancer) if the cells can grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Men’s breast tissue has ducts, but only a few if any lobules.Breast cancer can start from different parts of the breast. Most breast cancers begin in the ducts that carry milk to the nipple (ductal cancers). Some start in the glands that make breast milk (lobular cancers). Doctors know that male breast cancer occurs when some breast cells divide more rapidly than healthy cells do. The accumulating cells form a tumor that may spread (metastasize) to nearby tissue, to the lymph nodes or to other parts of the body.
Symptoms of Breast Cancer in Men:
A lump in the breast – this is usually hard, painless and does not move around within the breast
The nipple turning inwards
Fluid oozing from the nipple (nipple discharge), which may be streaked with blood
A sore or rash around the nipple that does not go away
The nipple or surrounding skin becoming hard, red or swollen
Small bumps in the armpit (swollen glands)
Breast Cancer Treatment for Men:
Surgery. The typical treatment for men is a mastectomy, in which your entire breast is removed.
Radiation therapy. You may have treatment with radioactive rays or particles after surgery. It can help kill off any cancer cells that surgery missed. If the cancer is inoperable, radiation may be your main treatment.
Chemotherapy. With this treatment, you’ll be given drugs — by mouth or by injection — to attack the cancer cells. You may have chemotherapy after surgery to lower the risk of the cancer coming back. For men with advanced cancer or cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, chemotherapy may be the primary treatment.
Hormone therapy. Some kinds of breast cancer need certain hormones to grow. This therapy blocks the effects of these hormones, stopping the cancer’s growth.
Men Who Can Likely Get Cancer:
It’s rare for a man under age 35 to get breast cancer. Your chance of getting breast cancer goes up with age. Most breast cancers in men happen between ages 60 and 70.Other things that raise the odds for male breast cancer include:
Breast cancer in a close female relative
History of radiation exposure of the chest
Enlarged breasts (gynecomastia) because of drug or hormone treatments, some infections, or poison
Taking estrogen
A rare genetic condition called Klinefelter’s syndrome
Severe liver disease, called cirrhosis
Diseases of the testicles such as mumps orchitis, a testicular injury, or an undescended testicle
Obesity
