Yes! Breast cancer affects not only women but also in men too. Breast carcinoma in males could be a very rare disease. Thousands of men are diagnosed with breast cancer per annum. The breast tissue is present in both men and women. The breast development in women happens because of the breast-stimulating hormone.
Men can get breast cancer at any stage of their life. Men are less likely to find the hard lump underneath the breast due to a lack of awareness about breast cancer. This leads to a higher mortality rate in men than in women. To know more about the symptoms, causes, treatment and survival rate after breast cancer treatment, read on the article. Also, find whether every male should frequently screen for breast cancer.
Symptoms of breast cancer in men:
The following are the list of symptoms seen in men with breast cancer:
- Redness in nipple
- Discharge from the nipple
- Hard painless lump or thickening near the breast tissue or underarm area
- Change in shape of the nipple or Nipple turned inward
- Swollen breast skin
- Colour of the skin changes near the breast area
If you discover any of the symptoms, then visit your healthcare provider immediately. Based on the type of symptoms you have your doctor may prescribe medicines and tests to ease the problem. If medicines are prescribed, order it online from any reliable online pharmacy store.
Causes of breast cancer in men:
It can be caused because of any of the subsequent factors:
- Higher levels of estrogen hormone
- Genetics
- Exposed to an excessive amount of radiation
- Ageing
- Obesity
- Liver cirrhosis can increase female hormones in the body, which raises the risk of breast cancer
- Inflamed testicles or removal of testicles can increase the possibility of breast cancer
Types of breast cancer diagnosed in men:
A few types of breast cancer diagnosed in men include:
- Lobular carcinoma: It’s a rare disease as lobules are not frequently seen in men.
- Inflammatory breast cancer: If you notice redness or swelling near in and around the breast then seek medical attention immediately.
- Paget’s disease: It’s extremely rare cancer that happens within the nipple’s areola.
- Ductal carcinoma: Most of the lads who have breast cancer suffer from ductal carcinoma. Cancer occurs inside the milk ducts.
How to diagnose breast cancer in men:
If your doctor finds any lump underneath the breast or underarm, then your doctor may run different tests just like the blood test, imaging, and scanning aside from the regular physical examination to find the cause of the disease. If the results show positive for cancer, then the doctor may suggest more imaging tests to ascertain the spread of the disease. Also, they will recommend doing a biopsy to diagnose the type and stage of cancer. Here, we have listed a couple of the possible tests your doctor may do to diagnose breast cancer:
- Mammography
- Breast ultrasound
- Check for nipple discharge
- Biopsy: The various biopsies which are meted out based on the size of the needle include: fine-needle aspiration biopsy, surgical biopsy, image-guided biopsy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and core-needle biopsy.
- Complete blood test
- X-rays
Treatment options:
If lumps are seen, the mode of treatment for breast cancer is the same as that of women. A few treatment options include:
- Radiation therapy
- Surgery or Mastectomy or partial mastectomy
- Chemotherapy
- Estrogen-blocking drugs and
- Medication
Buy your prescription medicines from a trusted online pharmacy store by directly uploading your prescription within the website or the app. Also, click on the medicine search option and browse for the medicines prescribed by the doctor. Order your prescription drugs immediately and get online medicine delivery at home.
Once treatments are completed, frequent visit going forward with mammography is mandatory to monitor cancer and check the chance of developing other sorts of cancer. There are a few reports which show that individuals who had treatment for breast cancer also developed other cancers like gastrointestinal cancer, non-melanoma skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer to name a few.
Survival rate in men after diagnosis:
The survival rate in men after a breast cancer diagnosis is less compared to women. This can be because men aren’t frequently screened for breast cancer like women who often escort mammograms once in a year. Hence, in men, breast cancer is usually diagnosed only in the later stage. Yes! Delay in diagnosis and lack of adequate treatment makes men’s survival rate less compared to women.
Should men screen for breast cancer regularly? No, but awareness should be increased among men about the breast tissue and chest wall tissue. This helps men to go to the doctor if they notice any lump or changes in breast appearance. During an annual health check-up, the doctor may ask a few genetics-related health issues to ascertain whether you are at risk of developing the disease.
