Breast Cancer—Male Breast Cancer

Although breast cancer is much more common in women, men can get it too. It happens most often to men between the ages of 60 and 70.

Breast lumps usually aren’t cancer. However, most men with breast cancer have lumps. Other breast symptoms can include

• Dimpled or puckered skin
• A red, scaly nipple or skin
• Fluid discharge

Risk factors for male breast cancer include exposure to radiation, a family history of breast cancer, and having high estrogen levels, which can happen with diseases like cirrhosis or Klinefelter’s syndrome.

Treatment for male breast cancer is usually a mastectomy, which is surgery to remove the breast. Other treatments include radiation, chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

• After chemotherapy – discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breast cancer in men (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Chest radiation – discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Understanding Chemotherapy – NIH – Easy-to-Read (National Cancer Institute) – PDF
• What to Know about External Beam Radiation Therapy – NIH – Easy-to-Read (National Cancer Institute) – PDF

Breast cancer is a disease in which certain cells in the breast become abnormal and multiply uncontrollably to form a tumor. Although breast cancer is much more common in women, this form of cancer can also develop in men. In both women and men, the most common form of breast cancer begins in cells lining the milk ducts (ductal cancer). In women, cancer can also develop in the glands that produce milk (lobular cancer). Most men have little or no lobular tissue, so lobular cancer in men is very rare.In its early stages, breast cancer usually does not cause pain and may exhibit no noticeable symptoms. As the cancer progresses, signs and symptoms can include a lump or thickening in or near the breast; a change in the size or shape of the breast; nipple discharge, tenderness, or retraction (turning inward); and skin irritation, dimpling, or scaliness. However, these changes can occur as part of many different conditions. Having one or more of these symptoms does not mean that a person definitely has breast cancer.In some cases, cancerous tumors can invade surrounding tissue and spread to other parts of the body. If breast cancer spreads, cancerous cells most often appear in the bones, liver, lungs, or brain. Tumors that begin at one site and then spread to other areas of the body are called metastatic cancers.A small percentage of all breast cancers cluster in families. These cancers are described as hereditary and are associated with inherited gene mutations. Hereditary breast cancers tend to develop earlier in life than noninherited (sporadic) cases, and new (primary) tumors are more likely to develop in both breasts.