Introduction
Breast cancer in men is a rare disease, which is usually recognized quite late due to the stigma that breast cancer only occurs in women. In 2014, for example, there were 650 men with breast cancer. For women, on the other hand, the figure is about 70,000 per year. The age of onset of the disease is between 65 and 79 years for men.
What are the typical signs?
The signs of breast cancer in men are similar to those in women. Most often the following signs appear:
- Palpable lumps in the armpit and breast area
- Asymmetrical skin changes on the breast
- Fluid secretion from the nipple
- Signs of inflammation such as redness, swelling or overheating
- Minor wounds that won’t heal on their own
- Retractions of the chest wall in the form of dents
In the early stages, patients usually have no general symptoms. Only when the tumour has advanced and is growing into other organs do other symptoms appear.
Here are some examples: In addition, there may be symptoms in places where metastases have formed. If daughter ulcers have formed in the lymph nodes of the armpit, the arm may become swollen because water retention occurs due to a lack of lymphatic drainage. If there are metastases in the lungs, coughing and shortness of breath can be the result.
Patients with affected bones often suffer from bone pain. If the liver is affected, the skin may turn yellow and the liver function may be impaired, which can lead to liver failure. Finally, metastases can also form in the brain, which then lead to neurological failures.
- Weight loss
- Lassitude
- Tiredness
- Reduction in performance
Pain is rather rare with breast cancer. The lumps that can be felt in the breast are swollen and thickened, but this is usually painless. Pain can be caused by inflammation around the tumour or when other organs are affected. This topic might also be of interest to you: Symptoms of breast cancer
Therapy
The therapy of breast cancer in men is essentially no different from the therapy in women. First, an operation is usually performed to remove the tumour and suspicious lymph nodes in the armpit region. How much of the breast must be removed depends on how far the tumour has spread.
For many men, a complete removal of the breast is necessary. Here, too, a reconstruction can be carried out, just like in women. Depending on how advanced the tumour was and how high the risk is that the tumour returns, a follow-up treatment is recommended.
Here, either a radiotherapy can be carried out in which the tumour region and the surrounding tissue are irradiated again in order to keep the risk of recurrence, i.e. the risk of relapse, as low as possible. Another option is chemotherapy, which acts on the entire body and thus also combats any small metastases that may already be present. Hormone therapy for breast cancer is also recommended for many men, as men’s breast tumours usually have at least one hormone receptor.
This can then be specifically inhibited so that tumour cells are specifically attacked. The treatment of breast cancer takes place in specialised breast centres for both men and women. These are centres throughout Germany and elsewhere that specialise in treating breast cancer. The doctors are usually gynaecologists. Since the therapy for men is no different from that for women, no other doctor needs to be consulted.
