9/17/01

Breast Cancer: A Health Concern for Men and Women

The little pink ribbons that begin to appear everywhere about this time each year remind us that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This designation has helped to raise the public’s awareness of breast cancer, and has no doubt helped in raising funds to conduct breast cancer research. The results have been positive; although the number of new breast cancer cases continued to rise during the 1980’s, the 1990’s saw a leveling off of the number of new cases.

While this news is cause for optimism, breast cancer remains a major health concern. During this year alone, approximately 192,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the United States and 14,000 new cases will be found in men. (Male breast cancer accounts for 1 out of every 100 cases of breast cancer.) Given that early detection is the best protection against breast cancer, the emphasis on having regularly scheduled mammograms has increased the chances of survival for women by detecting cancers years before they can be felt. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for men. Males do not have routine breast examinations nor routine mammograms. That is why men should also examine their own breasts routinely; the most common symptom of male breast cancer is a painless lump that is usually detected by the man himself.

While the cause of breast cancer is still unknown, eating a diet high in fiber and low in fat, exercising regularly, and not smoking may decrease the risk. As with most diseases, the presence of certain factors increases the risk of developing breast cancer. In women, risk factors include:

- age: risk increases with age; over 80% of breast cancer cases occur

in women over age 50

- race: white, African-American, and Latin American women are more at

risk than Asian and Native American women

- having a close relative with breast cancer

- beginning menstruation before age 12 or experiencing a late menopause

- never having children, or giving birth for the first time after age 30

- a history of breast abnormalities

- over-exposure to estrogen

- exposure to estrogen-like chemicals (for example, found in some pesticides)

- heavy exposure to radiation.

The risk factors for men include

- age: as with women, the incidence of breast cancer in men increases with age

- over-exposure to radiation

- having a number of female relatives with breast cancer

- testicular disorders

- abnormal hormone activity

- ethnicity: higher risk for African American males than white males.

Female and male breast cancers share a number of similarities. For both, the prognosis is influenced by how advanced the cancer is at the time of diagnosis. While it appears that the prognosis for men is worse than for women, the truth is that breast cancer in males is usually detected at a more advanced stage than it is for women (thanks in part to regular mammograms for women), so it is more difficult to treat. The same procedures used to diagnose breast cancer in females can be used to diagnose the condition in males (physical examination, medical history, and mammography). Treatment of the cancer with radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or hormone therapy is similar for both genders. And patterns of recurrence and spreading of the cancer are similar for men and women.

To learn more about breast cancer, contact the American Cancer Society at (860) 242-8277. The Central Connecticut Health District also has informational brochures available; residents may call the health district at 721-2822.