October is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” a time dedicated to raising awareness about the most common cancer among women worldwide.
However, there is a crucial message that doctors want to emphasize: Men can get breast cancer too.
Although breast cancer is much more prevalent in women, it still affects thousands of men annually.
“About 3,000 or so men are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the United States,” said Dr. Claudine Isaacs, a professor of medicine and oncology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
Medical experts are urging men to recognize the risks and seek early detection.
“If a man feels a lump in his breast, he should definitely bring that to the attention of his health care provider,” said Isaacs. “A persistent lump needs to be evaluated.”
As is the same for women, treatment for breast cancer in men depends on how big the tumor is and how far it has spread.
“Treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy and targeted therapy,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We want to know about it as early as we possibly can, because that increases the chance for cure,” Isaacs added.
‘You should be aware’
William Duda, who lives in Maryland, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
When he first noticed that he had a lump on his chest, he said he didn’t think much of it until it started to hurt.
“It prompted me to go get checked out … and found out that it was cancerous,” Duda said. “My reaction was a bit of shock. It’s not something a guy thinks about.”
After about 16 weeks of chemotherapy and a surgery, Duda now considers himself a survivor.
“If you have a history of breast cancer in your family, you should be aware that you could get it too, even though you’re a man,” said Duda. “If you have any sort of lump, or something that’s out of place in your chest area, talk to your primary care physician.”
“You need to get it checked out, because the sooner you get it checked out, the better your chances of beating it are,” he added. “Don’t think of this as a women-only disease. It’s not, it’s something that impacts all of us.”
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