15.10.2024.
Breast cancer is cancer that starts in the breast tissue, which everyone has in their chest.
- Anyone can get breast cancer. It’s rare in men.
- How serious breast cancer is depends on how big the cancer is, if the cancer has spread, and your general health.
- Sometimes breast cancer can spread to another part to the body, this is called secondary breast cancer.
Main symptoms of breast cancer in men
Symptoms of breast cancer in men may include:
- a lump or swelling in your chest or armpit
- liquid leaking from your nipples, which may have blood in it
- changes in the size or shape of either side of your chest
- sores or ulcers on your chest
- a change in the shape or look of your nipple, such as it turning inwards (inverted nipple) or a rash on it (may look like eczema).
It’s important to check your chest regularly so you know what’s normal for you. This makes it easier to notice any changes in the size, look or feel of your chest or nipples.
Non-urgent advice. See a GP if:
- you have a lump or swelling in your chest or armpit
- you have nipple discharge from either nipple
- you have any changes in your chest or nipples that are not normal for you.
Important
Some of these symptoms, including lumps, are common and can be caused by other conditions.
Having the symptoms does not definitely mean you have breast cancer, but it’s important to get checked by a GP.
If your symptoms are caused by cancer, finding it early may mean it’s easier to treat.
Symptoms of secondary breast cancer
If breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body it’s called secondary breast cancer.
The symptoms depend on which part of the body the cancer has spread to. It can spread anywhere, but it most commonly affects the bones, liver, lungs or brain.
You may also have general symptoms including:
- feeling tired or having no energy
- loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
- feeling unwell with no clear cause
- feeling or being sick
- difficulty sleeping.
Surgery
Surgery is usually the main treatment for breast cancer.
Surgery can include:
- removing the whole breast and nipple (mastectomy) – this is the most common surgery for breast cancer in men and usually involves removing lymph nodes in armpit (these are small glands that are part of the body’s immune system)
- removing just the cancer and some breast tissue around it – this may mean the nipple does not need to be removed.
If the nipple was removed, one may choose to have the surgeon make a new nipple. They may be able to do this using skin from another part of patient’s body, or by tattooing a new nipple.
It is important to wait a few months after the mastectomy.
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Foto: Freepik.com
