Being Vigilant about Symptoms of Male Breast Cancer

Men need to discern that breast cancer is not merely restricted to the female gender. Likely symptoms of male breast cancer to be watchful about are:

• Swelling or lumps that are usually though not pain-free at all times.
• Skin dimples or puckers.
• Nipples get retracted or turn inwards.
• Reddishness or scaling noted in the nipples or skin of the breast.
• Some form of emission or discharge from the nipples.

Although such changes are not caused due to cancer at all times. For instance, majority of the breast lump formations among males are because of gynaecomastia (a non-harmful swelling in tissue of the breast). Yet, in case a man notices some kind of change in the breasts then it is imperative to seek medical opinion as quickly as doable.

Symptoms of male breast cancer when detected early could improve likelihood of successful treatment.

How Male breast cancer Differs from Female Breast Cancer

There are several resemblances in-between breast cancer in males and females; however there are a few crucial differences in between the two which could have an effect on early detection of symptoms of male breast cancer.

Breast Size

The most apparent differentiating factor in-between men and women breasts are the size. Since males do not have much breast tissue hence even small-sized tumor or mass formations could be palpated with ease by the man and the health care expert. Conversely since males have a small amount of breast tissue, cancer would not need to metastasize too much for being able to reach the nipples. Hence, in spite of breast cancer among men have a tendency of being somewhat smaller in size in comparison to females when initially identified, they would have often metastasized to the adjacently placed lymph nodes or tissues. The extent of metastasis is one of the highly significant deciding factors in breast cancer outlook.

Dearth of Awareness

Another variation is that breast cancer is commonly found in females whereas rarely found among males. Females have a tendency of being wary about breast cancer and its likely caveat signs whereas majority of the males fail in realizing that they have even a miniscule possibility of being affected with this disease. A number of males tend to overlook breast lumps or are of the thought process that these lumps have developed due to an infection or some other cause. Men often fail to receive medical therapy till the mass has grown in size. Several males harbour feelings of embarrassment about locating a breast lump and are worried that their manliness might be questioned. Due to this reason, diagnosis often gets delayed because of which the man’s prospects of having a successful therapy also diminish as a consequence.

Breast cancer is analogous in both sexes yet it is more frequently hormone- receptor positive among males. Nearly ninety percent of all breast tumors among males are invasive form of cancers and the rest ten percent are non-invasive type. Nearly all non-invasive cancer types are DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) and are generally low to intermediary grade when located.