Breast cancer is a disease that primarily affects women, but new cases of breast cancer show up in men every year. If a man is exposed to higher than normal levels of estrogen such as occurs with certain diseases like cirrhosis of the liver, he is at risk for breast cancer. Some doctors believe that it is for this reason that the disease is seen mostly in older men whose testosterone level has begun to drop off. Other risk factors include having been exposed to radiation and having other members of the family with breast cancer, especially if they have an altered BRCA2 gene.
It is easier for a man to detect a lump in the breast region but it is important to remember that lumps can be caused for a variety of reasons. Men are not given mammograms or MRIs because the cancer is usually found before it is very large.
There are several tests available to find out if the lump is cancerous. A biopsy is likely to be the first test performed to find out what the lump is made of. Next a procedure is performed to test how many hormone receptors are in the lump. This test will tell the doctor if hormone therapy will stop the lump from growing. The third test checks for a growth protein. Cancer cells make a protein which encourages more cells to grow. If that protein is found in the lump, there is a medication called monoclonal antibody which can stop the lumps growth.
The survival rate of breast cancer patients is the same for men and women when they are at the same diagnostic stage, but mens cancer is usually found at a much later stage where is is not as easy to cure. Some other reasons for a poor prognosis include whether or not the cancer is also in the other breast and the patient’s physical health and age.