Breast Cancer Awareness for Men

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

It's a time to remind women of the importance of early detection.

But would you believe that men could also be diagnosed with breast cancer?

"For a general surgeon in regular practice, you would expect to see one or two cases of male breast cancer in your entire career. Whereas with women, it's a one in eight that will have breast cancer in their lifetime," says Dr. Faye Armstrong

According to the American Cancer Society, about 1,900 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among men in 2010, and about 390 men will die from breast cancer. The numbers are not staggering, but the bottom line is men should not ignore the warning signs.

Dr. Armstrong says, "With a man, usually they will feel a lump because we don't routinely screen men with mammograms, although that can be done especially if he has a larger breast. You can certainly do a mammogram and we will do that if we find a mass, but most men who have a breast cancer will find a lump first."

These pictures show you what it looks like in a female breast through an x-ray. You can see the mast clearly. Now this is a male breast. These cases were benign, but still serious enough to contact a doctor, and anyone can be diagnosed.

"I think the thing that's most important to be aware of is there actually is breast cancer in men. Many people think it's only a women's problem and it's really not. So if you have a lump that you can feel you need to get it checked out."

For more information, contact the American Cancer Society, or contact your doctor if you find something.

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Entertainment

Tags:

• Breast
• Cancer
• Awareness
• Men
• October
• American
• Society