Men affected by breast cancer too

  • Published
  • By Compiled from staff reports
  • 354th Medial Group Health and Wellness Center
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  This year in the United States 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed and 40,460 are expected to die from the disease. 

Breast cancer continues to be the second most fatal cancer among women, with lung cancer being number one. 

This is also an opportunity to bring attention to male breast cancer. Though breast cancer is often seen as only a woman's disease, the disease has increased among men with a 1 percent increase between 1975 and 2002. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2005 an estimated 1,690 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in men in the U.S. and about 460 died from the disease. 

Since male breast cancer is less common, delayed diagnosis often results in the disease being more deadly for men. With both the emphasis on breast cancer as a woman's disease and many men's unwillingness to talk about health issues, the awareness of male breast cancer is often limited. 

The main risk factors to both sexes include aging, heavy alcohol intake, radiation exposure, physical inactivity and obesity, but the causes of breast cancer remain unknown and controversial. 

The disease is more common in post-menopausal women, but 25 percent of women with breast cancer are younger than 50. A family history of breast cancer and inherited mutations of genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 can account for the disease in both men and women. 

However, even heredity and the presence of breast cancer genes have recently been shown to be less the risk factors than previously thought. Eighty to 85 percent of women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. 

Screening tests with your medical provider are crucial. "Breast Self Examination is important", stated Lt. Col. Katherine Callies, 354th Medical Group Women's Health Practitioner. "However, recent medical studies have shown that mammography is the key to early detection." 

An annual mammogram is recommended for women ages 40 and older. Additionally, both men and women can take charge of their own breast health by understanding their personal risks, have screening tests done routinely, and by performing breast self-exams and promptly reporting any changes to their medical provider. 

For more information on breast cancer, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit their website, www.cancer.org.