Men & Breast Cancer
It comes as a complete surprise. You find a lump in your breast
-- could it be cancer? You may think you've heard this scenario
before, but this time we're not talking about women, but men.
Men
do get breast cancer. Doctors say it can be more deadly for
men because they simply get diagnosed too late. There is some
important information that could save you or the men in your
life.
"I
sort of procrastinated," Dr. Nicholas Petkas, a breast cancer
survivor, says. Petkas ignored a lump he found in his breast.
"I
was puzzled about it," he says. "I had not noticed it before."
Once
he did get it checked, he was surprised. The diagnosis was
breast cancer. "Breast
cancer is not a disease to be trifled with," he says.
"Men
don't know that they can get cancer," Dr. Greg Evans, a radiologist,
says. "If they have something, they ignore it."
Dr.
Evans is a leading breast cancer expert. He makes it his mission
to spread the word about the dangers of this deadly disease
for men.
"If
a man gets breast cancer, he's more likely to die than a woman
is," Dr. Evans says.
Breast
cancer in men is not as common as in women, but it can be
more deadly because men are not usually diagnosed until the
breast cancer is advanced.
"Undoubtedly a factor is that men feel more self-conscience
about going for a mammogram," Dr. Evans says. Dr.
Evans is using MRI Technology instead, which he contends is
less intimidating for a man and is more accurate.
Matthew
Hertz says he knows all too well the importance of early diagnosis
and hopes he caught his cancer in time.
"My
lump was evident for months," Hertz says. "For months I thought
I had a swollen gland."
Doctors
advise men not to panic. Not all abnormalities mean Cancer,
but unusual symptoms should be checked out immediately.
