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Every October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And with nearly one in 13 women prone to breast cancer, according to the Singapore Cancer Society, there is often a lot of emphasis on encouraging women, especially older women, to have regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer. mom.
But breast cancer is not exclusive to women; men can get it too.
According to Dr. Tan Chuan Chien, director of the division of breast and endocrine surgery at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, “Male breast cancer accounts for approximately one percent of all patients diagnosed with breast cancer.”
Men with breast cancer
While only five to 10 percent of breast cancer in women can be attributed to genes, up to two-thirds of men with breast cancer carry a hereditary cancer gene and generally have a strong family history of breast cancer, says Mount Elizabeth. Hospital breast surgeon, Dr. Tan Yah Yuen.
Male breast cancer tends to be diagnosed at a later stage of the disease, where the tumor size is larger and the cancer has potentially spread to distant lymph nodes and organs by the time it is discovered, he adds.
As in women, breast cancer tends to develop in the last years of men’s lives.
[[nid:492008]]“Essentially, cancer develops due to a mutation in breast cells, and such mutations are more common as a person ages,” says Dr. Tan Yah Yuen.
“In addition, a person’s natural defenses to fight abnormal cells decline as the person ages, especially when there are other coexisting premorbid diseases as well,” adds Dr. Tan Chuan Chien.
The symptoms are also similar in both sexes: a lump that can be felt in the breast, abnormal discharge from the nipple with blood, or retraction of the nipple. For Dr. Tan Chuan Chien, most of the male breast cancer patients he has treated had a breast lump in the retroareolar region behind the nipple.
“However, because there is generally not much breast tissue in men, there is a tendency for the tumor to have infiltrated the chest wall or even the skin before being discovered, especially since men are often inattentive to breast symptoms. “says Dr. Tan Yah Yuen.
“Therefore, men are also more likely to have skin changes from the tumor, such as wrinkles on the overlying skin.”
Treatment and recovery options
Treatment options do not vary between men and women, and whether surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or endocrine therapy is recommended depends on the stage of the cancer. However, “Surgeons tend to recommend removal of the entire breast (mastectomy) for men, since breast preservation is not usually a problem for men,” shares Dr. Tan Chuan Chien.
The nipple is also always completely removed during surgery in men, adds Dr. Tan Yah Yuen. Men are also more likely to feel somewhat embarrassed about having their breast removed, rather than upset about losing their breast compared to women, it adds.
And while men appear to have a “lower overall unadjusted survival rate than women with breast cancer,” this is primarily due to the “advanced advanced stage of presentation of men compared to women,” shares Dr. Tan Chuan Chien.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is held every October. Since breast cancer is the number one cancer affecting women in Singapore and early detection can save lives, women are encouraged to get a mammogram for just $ 25 for Singapore citizens. Visit pinkribbonsingapore.org to learn more about the various activities that are carried out to raise awareness of breast cancer.
