Breast Cancer NO FUN but worse for men!
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Breast cancer is rare in men, but they fare worse
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CHICAGO (AP) -- Men rarely get breast cancer, but those who do
often don't survive as long as women, largely because they don't even
realize they can get it and are slow to recognize the warning signs,
researchers say.
On average, women with breast cancer lived two years longer than men in the biggest study yet of the disease in males.
The
study found that men's breast tumors were larger at diagnosis, more
advanced and more likely to have spread to other parts of the body. Men
were also diagnosed later in life; in the study, they were 63 on
average, versus 59 for women.
Many men have no
idea that they can get breast cancer, and some doctors are in the dark,
too, dismissing symptoms that would be an automatic red flag in women,
said study leader Dr. Jon Greif, a breast cancer surgeon in Oakland,
Calif.
The American Cancer Society estimates 1
in 1,000 men will get breast cancer, versus 1 in 8 women. By
comparison, 1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer, the most common cancer
in men.
"It's not really been on the radar
screen to think about breast cancer in men," said Dr. David Winchester, a
breast cancer surgeon in NorthShore University HealthSystem in suburban
Chicago who was not involved in the study. Winchester treats only a few
men with breast cancer each year, compared with at least 100 women.
The
researchers analyzed 10 years of national data on breast cancer cases,
from 1998 to 2007. A total of 13,457 male patients diagnosed during
those years were included, versus 1.4 million women. The database
contains about 75 percent of all U.S. breast cancer cases.
The
men who were studied lived an average of about eight years after being
diagnosed, compared with more than 10 years for women. The study doesn't
indicate whether patients died of breast cancer or something else.
Greif prepared a summary of his study for presentation Friday at a meeting of American Society of Breast Surgeons in Phoenix.
Dr.
Akkamma Ravi, a breast cancer specialist at Weill Cornell Medical
College in New York, said the research bolsters results in smaller
studies and may help raise awareness. Because the disease is so rare in
men, research is pretty scant, and doctors are left to treat it the same
way they manage the disease in women, she said.
Some
doctors said one finding in the study suggests men's breast tumors
might be biologically different from women's: Men with early-stage
disease had worse survival rates than women with early-stage cancer. But
men's older age at diagnosis also might explain that result, Greif
said.
The causes of breast cancer in men are
not well-studied, but some of the same things that increase women's
chances for developing it also affect men, including older age,
cancer-linked gene mutations, a family history of the disease, and heavy
drinking.
There are no formal guidelines for
detecting breast cancer in men. The American Cancer Society says
routine, across-the-board screening of men is unlikely to be beneficial
because the disease is so rare.
For men at
high risk because of a strong family history or genetic mutations,
mammograms and breast exams may be helpful, but men should discuss this
with their doctors, the group says.
Men's
breast cancer usually shows up as a lump under or near a nipple. Nipple
discharge and breasts that are misshapen or don't match are also
possible signs that should be checked out.
Tom
More, 67, of Custer, Wash., was showering when he felt a pea-size lump
last year near his right nipple. Because a golfing buddy had breast
cancer, More didn't put off seeing his doctor. The doctor told More that
he was his first male breast cancer patient.
Robert
Kaitz, a computer business owner in Severna Park, Md., thought the
small growth under his left nipple was just a harmless cyst, like ones
that had been removed from his back. By the time he had it checked out
in 2006, almost two years later, the lump had started to hurt.
The diagnosis was a shock.
"I
had no idea in the world that men could even get breast cancer," Kaitz
said. He had a mastectomy, and 25 nearby lymph nodes were removed, some
with cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation followed.
Tests
showed Kaitz, 52, had a BRCA genetic mutation that has been linked to
breast and ovarian cancer in women. He may have gotten the mutation from
his mother, who is also a breast cancer survivor. It has also been
linked to prostate cancer, which Kaitz was treated for in 2009.
A
powerboater and motorcycle buff, Kaitz jokes about being a man with a
woman's disease but said he is not embarrassed and doesn't mind showing
his breast surgery scar.
The one thing he
couldn't tolerate was tamoxifen, a hormone treatment commonly used to
help prevent breast cancer from returning in women. It can cause
menopausal symptoms, so he stopped taking it.
"It
killed me. I tell you what - night sweats, hot flashes, mood swings,
depression. I'd be sitting in front of the TV watching a drama and the
tears wouldn't stop pouring," he said.
Doctors sometimes prescribe antidepressants or other medication to control those symptoms.
Now Kaitz gets mammograms every year. Men need to know that "we're not immune," he said. "We have the same plumbing."
To view the original article CLICK HERE
Do note:
Male breast cancer: http://bit.ly/ayq2S6
Support group: http://www.malebreastcancer.org
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I Have Been Fighting Cancer since 1997
& I'M STILL HERE!
I Have Cancer, Cancer Does NOT Have Me
I just want to say sorry for copping out at times and leaving Lee and friends to cope!
Any help and support YOU can give her will be hugely welcome.
I do make a lousy patient!
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Posted by: Greg Lance-Watkins
tel: 01594 - 528 337
on: http://GregLanceWatkins.Blogspot.com
TWITTER: Greg_LW Health/Cancer
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Blog: http://GregLW.blogspot.com
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