Male Breast Cancer

Most people believe that breast cancer only affects women; this is because most men are not aware that they are also at risk of getting the disease. Given this, men need to be aware of the symptoms and the ways they can handle the disease. Below is a discussion of some important information that men should know about breast cancer in men.

While women are more susceptible to breast cancer, the fact remains that they are also more likely to survive it than a man will, simply because they are more likely to seek treatment earlier. Men simply are not aware of the risk that they have for breast cancer, however men who have man boobs often fear it.

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.

Family history does play a role, even if you do not develop Gynecomastia. Approximately 20% of the men who develop breast cancer at some point in life have a family history of breast cancer - from either male or female relatives. In other words, if a man's mother had breast cancer, his risk for developing breast cancer is higher than the average man's - regardless of whether or not he has man boobs.

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

About the Author

Learn about breast cancer risk and get a limited FREE report on Latest Breast Cancer Drugs by visiting http://breast-cancer-remedy.info, a popular website that provides free breast cancer care advice.