WEBVTT - How Common Is Male Breast Cancer?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren Vogelbaum.

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<v Speaker 1>Here a breast cancer is predominantly thought of as a

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<v Speaker 1>women's disease, but the thing about humans is that we're

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<v Speaker 1>all mammals. Men have breast tissue too, and men can

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<v Speaker 1>also develop cancer in that tissue. For the article this

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on how Stuff Work, spoke with doctor

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<v Speaker 1>Nikita Shaw, a section leader for breast medical oncology at

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<v Speaker 1>Orlando Health uf Health Cancer Center. She explained that the

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<v Speaker 1>reaction to such a traditionally feminine diagnosis can be volatile

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<v Speaker 1>for guys. A quote. Some men embrace and run with it.

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<v Speaker 1>Some men look at it as well, what's wrong with me?

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<v Speaker 1>In women and men, a breast cancer is more common

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<v Speaker 1>if you have a Braca one or brack A two

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<v Speaker 1>G mutation, but not every man or woman with these

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<v Speaker 1>mutations is destined to get breast cancer. Guys with these

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<v Speaker 1>mutations the risk of getting breast cancer over the course

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<v Speaker 1>of a lifetime is about six percent. Still, experts recommend

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<v Speaker 1>that men with a strong family history of breast cancer

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<v Speaker 1>or those who have been diagnosed already, get genetic testing

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<v Speaker 1>to determine whether a gene is at play. How stuff works.

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<v Speaker 1>Also spoke via email with Susan Brown, Senior Director of

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<v Speaker 1>Education and Patient Support with Susan G. Comen As. She

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<v Speaker 1>said the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is about

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<v Speaker 1>one in eight hundred and thirty three in US men,

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<v Speaker 1>compared to one in eight for US women. A male

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<v Speaker 1>breast cancers account for only one percent of all cases

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<v Speaker 1>diagnosed each year in the US, which equates to about

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand cases annually. But let's break down why this

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<v Speaker 1>is and how breast cancer works. Both men and women

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<v Speaker 1>have breast tissue. That breast tissue has fat, as well

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<v Speaker 1>as glands that produce milk and ducks that carry the

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<v Speaker 1>milk to the nipples. Most of the time, breast cancer

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<v Speaker 1>for both men and women begins in the milk ducts.

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<v Speaker 1>This is called ductal carcinoma. Breast cells normally grow and

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<v Speaker 1>divide in response to estrogen, which is why people who

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<v Speaker 1>are assigned male at birth generally don't develop much breast tissue.

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<v Speaker 1>They generally have less estrogen. The more these cells divide,

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<v Speaker 1>the more chances there are for mistakes to be made

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<v Speaker 1>when copying their DNA. These DNA mistakes may eventually lead

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<v Speaker 1>to cancer. If your hormones are unbalanced, that could increase

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<v Speaker 1>breast cancer risk, but the cause of most male breast

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<v Speaker 1>cancer is unknown. There are a few things that put

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<v Speaker 1>men at slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer, according

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<v Speaker 1>to Shah. For example, gynocomastia, which is the enlargement of

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<v Speaker 1>male breast tissue, can be caused by liver disease, hormonal imbalance,

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<v Speaker 1>or certain medications. Other risk factors include aging, family history

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<v Speaker 1>of breast cancer, obesity, liver disease, radiation exposure, heavy drinking,

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<v Speaker 1>and certain testicular conditions. Black men are at higher risk

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<v Speaker 1>than white men, but again the exact cause of cancer

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<v Speaker 1>developing is often unknown. While the risk of a breast

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<v Speaker 1>cancer diagnosis for a man is lower than for a woman,

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<v Speaker 1>it's often serious once it's caught. Shaw said men don't

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<v Speaker 1>have that much breast tissue and they're not looking for it,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's a higher stage when it's diagnosed because men

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<v Speaker 1>aren't going in for mammograms. Brown said the most common

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<v Speaker 1>sign of breast cancer in men is a painless lump

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<v Speaker 1>or thickening in the breast or chest area. However, any

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<v Speaker 1>change in the breast or nipple can be a warning

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<v Speaker 1>sign of breast cancer in men. Those changes could include dimpling, puckering,

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<v Speaker 1>or redness of the skin of the breast, itchy scaly sores,

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<v Speaker 1>or a rash on the nipple, including spots of blood,

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<v Speaker 1>pulling in or inversion of the nipple or other parts

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<v Speaker 1>of the breast and nipple discharge, or any other change

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<v Speaker 1>in the general size or shape of the breast. These

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<v Speaker 1>signs are practically identical to those experienced by women with

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<v Speaker 1>breast cancer. A treatment depends on the specific type and stage,

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<v Speaker 1>but in general, men who are a diagnosed be treated

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<v Speaker 1>similarly to a postmenopausal woman who's diagnosed. That treatment can

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<v Speaker 1>include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation, and or surgery. When it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to surgery, men more often receive a complete misectomy

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<v Speaker 1>rather than a lumpectomy, which is a partial removal of

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<v Speaker 1>the breast, and that's because of the smaller size of

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<v Speaker 1>most male breasts to begin with. That being said, treatment

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<v Speaker 1>is handled on a case by case basis, with some

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<v Speaker 1>men requiring radiation therapy depending on the stage. Typically, hormone

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<v Speaker 1>therapy is also used, since most male breast cancer cases

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<v Speaker 1>are hormone receptor positive. This therapy helps prevent the estrogen

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<v Speaker 1>and progesterone hormones from attaching to the receptors in the cells,

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<v Speaker 1>which stops the growth of cancerous cells. Chemotherapy is also

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<v Speaker 1>dependent on stage and type. The diagnosis of breast cancer

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<v Speaker 1>is enough to upset in any patient, but for men,

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<v Speaker 1>it's often unexpected. Add the perception of the disease as feminine, though,

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<v Speaker 1>and a new layer of discomfort is common. Brown said,

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<v Speaker 1>men may be embarrassed if they have to get a

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<v Speaker 1>diagnostic mammogram or see a breast surgeon or a breast

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<v Speaker 1>cancer oncologist where they're surrounded by pink and mistaken as

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<v Speaker 1>a caregiver and not the patient. I would personally add

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<v Speaker 1>that the branding of cancer research and treatment in pink

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<v Speaker 1>can be off putting to anyone. But more to our

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<v Speaker 1>point today, it's up to caregivers and the public to

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<v Speaker 1>shift the dialogue to be more inclusive. Brown said, we

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<v Speaker 1>can do a better job when talking about breast cancer,

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<v Speaker 1>deliberately adding men to the story, acknowledging it can occur,

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<v Speaker 1>normalizing the occurrence of breast cancer and men to remove

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<v Speaker 1>the stigma, and as more men share their breast cancer diagnosis, publicly,

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<v Speaker 1>the stigma should decrease. Brown also suggests support groups for

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<v Speaker 1>men dealing with such a diagnosis, as she said, support

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<v Speaker 1>groups for breast cancer may only have female members, so

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<v Speaker 1>joining a support group for men with any type of

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<v Speaker 1>cancer may be more helpful. If you or someone you

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<v Speaker 1>love is looking for that support, you can check with

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<v Speaker 1>your medical provider or a cancer advocacy organization like Comen

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<v Speaker 1>four resources in your area or online. Today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on the article male breast cancer is Rare but

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<v Speaker 1>Real on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by Aleah Hoyt. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For four

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

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