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Photo Highlights from 2021 10• Male Breast Cancer
PHOTO MEMORIES FROM BCA’S 2021 LIVE EVENTS
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MALE BREAST CANCER
On March 2, Breast Cancer Alliance will host a nationwide virtual medical symposium about male breast cancer (details in the box below.) The 2022 data has not yet been released, but The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2021, there would be 2,650 new cases of invasive male breast cancer and approximately 530 men would die.
Breast cancer is about 100 times less common among white men than among white women. It is also about 70 times less common among Black men than Black women, but they bear a worse prognosis. For women, the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is one in eight. For men, it is about one in 833. While there are no surefire methods for preventing breast cancer, risk factors are inherited or acquired traits, or lifestyle behaviors, that can affect your chance of diagnosis though they are not a guarantee of diagnosis.
Any type of breast cancer that occurs in women can also affect men, but detection is a bit different as men do not traditionally undergo mammograms. A biopsy is done if the results of either a physical examination or imaging tests, such as a mammogram or ultrasound, show a concerning change in the breast. During a breast biopsy, a sample of tissue is taken from the breast. A pathologist — a doctor who is trained to diagnose disease — then examines the cells or tissue under a microscope to determine whether or not they are cancerous.
The most common risk factors associated with male breast cancer are age, exposure to higher levels of the hormone estrogen relative to the male hormone androgen, radiation, and a family history of female or male breast cancer. Aging is an important risk factor for the development of breast cancer in men as, like women, age increases chance of diagnosis. On average, men are most often diagnosed at 72 years old. Regarding family history, about one in five men with breast cancer have a close relative, male or female, with the disease. The BRCA2 mutation is the most common genetic link to male breast cancer, making lifetime risk about six in 100, with BRCA1 mutations at about one in 100. Additional risks for men include Klinefelter syndrome, a man whose chest area has been radiated for other treatment (like lymphoma,) and heavy alcohol consumption, which may be due to its effects on the liver and how liver diseases like cirrhosis, can lower androgen levels, increase estrogen levels and lead to higher chance of developing benign male breast growth (gynecomastia.) Studies have shown that women’s breast cancer risk is increased by obesity after menopause. Obesity is also a risk factor for male breast cancer as well.
SINCE THE CAUSE OF MOST BREAST CANCERS IS UNKNOWN, THERE IS NO SUREFIRE WAY TO PREVENT DIAGNOSIS BUT THERE ARE THINGS MEN CAN DO TO LOWER RISK: ACHIEVE AND/ OR MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT. AVOID OR LIMIT ALCOHOL. FOR MEN WHO DRINK, THEY SHOULD NOT EXCEED MORE THAN TWO DRINKS A DAY. BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE. THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RECOMMENDS THAT ADULTS ENGAGE IN A MINIMUM OF 150 TO 300 MINUTES OF MODERATE INTENSITY OR 75 TO 150 MINUTES OF VIGOROUS ACTIVITY EACH WEEK (OR A COMBINATION THEREOF) WITH 300 MINUTES AS THE IDEAL.
Wednesday, March 2, 7pm EST on Zoom
In partnership with Male Breast Cancer Global Alliance
Special Welcome from Two-time Emmy winner and Super Bowl champion Michael Strahan
Esteemed Panel:
Dr. Steve Lo
Medical Oncologist, Stamford Hospital and BCA Medical Advisory Board Chair
Dr. Elisa R. Port
Chief of Breast Surgery, Mt. Sinai Health System, BCA Medical Advisory Board Member and Director, Dubin Breast Center
Steve Cone
two-time breast cancer survivor
Evan Margolin
breast cancer survivor
Judge Tucker Melancon
two-time breast cancer survivor
Tickets for the event are free but donations are welcome. Register at breastcanceralliance.org/events This program was supported by a grant from Gilead Sciences.
