Wednesday, April 2, 2014

“B” is for Breast Cancer in Men

B

We’ve all seen the cute little Breast Cancer awareness ribbons and the little games that are passed around to help show solidarity in support of women’s breast cancer. I used to think it was pretty nifty until someone reminded me that women are not the only ones who are susceptible to this disease. I then began thinking that it wasn’t really fair that half the population should be ignored when referring to this disease, or series of diseases – there are more than one type of breast cancer, even in women.

Perhaps the reason that men are so often forgotten is that not everyone, including many men, realize that breast cancer is not just a female disease. However, statistics show that while the majority of those who contract the disease are indeed women, 1,700 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, or about 1% of all known cases; this is actually about 0.2% of all cancers in men. Of these 1,700 men, 480 of them (about 35.5%) will die from the disease.

There are a number of reasons that such a high percentage of men die from the disease, the most common being because it is considered by most to be a purely female form of cancer, and so men could be unaware of having the disease until it’s too late to stop the cancer’s progress. Breast cancer most commonly hits men between 60 and 70 years of age, although it can develop at any age. Another reason is that, because of the small amount of breast tissue in men, they rarely are candidates for mammograms, which is the most common diagnostic method for breast cancer in women.

As a general rule, men have more symptoms when they have the disease, and if you have any of the following, it would be a good idea to contact your doctor immediately. The most common symptom is a painless lump located right below the breast. Other common symptoms that might follow could include: nipple discharge (sometimes bloody), fixation to the skin or underlying tissues and skin ulcerations.

The most common form of breast cancer found in men is Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) while the rarest form is Inflammatory Breast Cancer (Paget Disease).2

There are a number of risk factors that should also be taken into consideration, including age, ethnicity, geographical location, socioeconomic status, heredity and hormones. In fact, it has been suggested that men with breast cancer should have genetic testing done. While this won’t necessarily hinder future generations from contracting cancer or even guarantee that they might, it should be noted that 6% of male children of a male breast cancer sufferer will contract the disease, and that 40%-80% of female children will contract it; 50% of their children will also carry the gene.

Please, if any of you men who read this think you may have any of the symptoms listed above, please go to your doctor. Although a mammogram is not highly feasible, there are sonograms which are a great diagnostic method (and way less painful, believe me Winking smile). Take care of your health—it’s precious, to you and your family.

 Sources:

  1. Breast Cancer in Men:The Warning signs
  2. Male Breast Cancer

 

©2014 Mary Purpari

10 comments:

  1. I am among the many who was totally unaware of this, Thank you dear for sharing this eye opener!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so happy that I was able to call people's attention to a subject that is so timely yet has been so understated in the past. Being informed will help us know how to help our loved ones.
      Thank you for dropping by.

      Delete
  2. Oh dear, I learned something today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, so did I; I mean I knew about breast cancer in men from before, but I didn't realize just how bad the situation is. I'm glad I could help open eyes with this article.

      Delete
  3. Wow! News to me...I was among the uninformed masses until reading your post. BTW, I love the picture. Reminds me of back home in Tennessee. I live in Texas now. Best regards to you. Ruby

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See, now you're no longer a part of the masses! I hope this article will help keep the public informed about a very insidious danger; insidious because it IS so unknown.
      I'm glad you like the photo--I've had a lot of comments on it. Would you believe me if I told you it was from a small mountain town in Sicily, Mistretta? When I lived there, it was one of my favorite places to go to for relaxing. There was always something to gather--flowers, chestnuts, mushrooms, pine nuts... How small our world is, right?

      Delete
  4. This was great...so many people of both genders are completely unaware of this one... my good buddy has breast cancer now and is in treatment. He met two other men there thank goodness because he was feeling so stigmatized by what he thought was a woman's cancer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know--that is one of the reasons that men, once they understand they have breast cancer, are so reluctant to say anything. Good luck to your buddy--I hope he will overcome. Thank you for giving this testimony. :)

      Delete
  5. Thanks for this educational post, Mary! I knew men could get breast cancer, but didn't realize it was that prevalent. A good lesson for everyone.
    The Doglady's Den

    ReplyDelete
  6. The sad part of it is that men don't know what is going on, and of course, so many are embarrassed to say anything. what's sad is that more than 1/3 of the men who get breast cancer die of it, because they waited so long.

    ReplyDelete

I would really love to read your thoughts, so leave a comment so we can all converse. Thanks.