Generally, when we listen to breast cancer, we immediately think of women since this disease is more common in them, however, this does not mean that there is no male breast cancer.
This is for a simple reason, men also have breast tissue, in less quantity than women but they do have it and that is why they have the latent risk of developing male breast cancer.
Breast cancer occurs when there is an uncontrolled growth of cells in the breast tissue, so they outnumber normal cells.
There is very little knowledge about this specifically male pathology. According to the radiologist, Raúl Delgadillo Cristerna of the Breast Cancer Clinic of the Specialty Hospital, male breast cancer has an incidence of one case for every 100 women, that is, they represent 1% of cases of cancer of breast being extremely aggressive in them.
SYMPTOMS OF MALE BREAST CANCER
Generally, the symptoms of a man suffering from breast cancer are very similar to those of women who are:
- Any painless lump, pellet, or thickening in the breast tissue.
- Changes in the skin that covers the breast among which we can find dimples, wrinkles, redness or peeling.
- Changes directly to the nipple such as redness or peeling or even a nipple beginning to sag.
- Nipple discharge
CAUSES OF BREAST CANCER IN MEN
As with any other type of cancer, the causes of male breast cancer are not exactly known, however, it is known to happen when malignant cells of the breast divide faster than healthy ones.
The accumulation of these cells is what forms the tumor, which can spread to nearby tissues, lymph nodes, or other parts of the body. When this happens it is what is called metastasis.
Metastasis occurs when cancer cells spread to other parts of the body such as the bones and continue to grow there. These cancer cells at the new site look the same as those that started in the breast.
When the cells spread to other places, it does not mean that you now also have cancer of the bone, liver, etc. Cancer is always named after where it started, so if cancer spread to the bones, it is still breast cancer.
TREATMENTS AGAINST BREAST CANCER
There are different ways to treat male breast cancer, the main two of which are: local or systemic.
Surgery and radiation are used to treat the tumor only without affecting the rest of the body. This is called local treatment.
The drugs used in chemotherapy and hormonal treatment circulate throughout the body, allowing them to pass on to all cancer cells anywhere in the body. These are systemic treatments.
Doctors generally use both local and systemic treatments to fight male breast cancer. The treatment plan that best suits you depends on:
- The stage and grade of the cancer
- The likelihood that some form of treatment may cure the cancer or be helpful
- Age
- Other health problems you have
- Your opinion about the treatment and its side effects.