"Men think they don’t have breast tissue, but they do."
Those were words Dr. Kristen Fernandez, medical director of the breast center at the MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Maryland shared with MensHealth.com.
When I think of men and breast cancer, I think of two very different things, man boobs and 9/11.
It was recently shared in the New York Post that over a dozen men who were near Ground Zero have breast cancer.
“I was a healthy man before,” said Silverstein, an Army veteran who has lived in Battery Park for 30 years.
The breast-cancer cases are just the latest tragic saga in the health woes of those who spent time at Ground Zero.
Nearly 10,000 people have suffered cancers linked to the toxic dust and smoke, the World Trade Center Health program reported. – New York Post
And of course having man boobs does not mean you are more susceptible to get breast cancer. It just means you have man boobs. Some more food for thought, when you develop glandular tissue in your breasts—as opposed to fat tissue—it's called gynecomastia. The culprits behind full-fledged man boobs largely have to do with your hormones (8 Things That Might Be Giving You Man Boobs – MensHealth.com)
Men have less breast tissue than women making the risk of breast cancer nearly nil, but it is still there.
We cis men of course have a bigger risk of testicular cancer, because, well, we have those round things down there, some even have three. The extra testicle is usually found in the left sac of the scrotum and it is often detected around age 18. Most often, men with polyorchidism will have three testicles but the record stands at five. We occasionally should check for pain or lumps in our basket of goodies, but how often do we check our breast tissue?
All people, whether male or female, are born with some breast cells and tissue. Even though males do not develop milk-producing breasts, a man’s breast cells and tissue can still develop cancer. Even so, male breast cancer is very rare. Less than one percent of all breast cancer cases develop in men, and only one in a thousand men will ever be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Breast cancer in men is usually detected as a hard lump underneath the nipple and areola. Men carry a higher mortality than women do, primarily because awareness among men is less and they are less likely to assume a lump is breast cancer, which can cause a delay in seeking treatment. – Nationalbreastcancer.org
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Do you know what to look out for? Dr. Kristen Fernandez shared with MensHealth these four symptoms of breast cancer that guys should watch out for.
Lumps
Inverted Nipple
Nipple Discahrge
Open Sores
For more description on the above and the full article, head over to Menshealth.com.
When it comes to testicular cancer, do you need big or small ones? Not at all. So when it comes to the chest/breasts, fit or fat, big or small, do you check your breasts? Let's take care of ourselves guys.
h/t: Nationalbreastcancer.org, Menshealth.com, New York Post