The American Cancer Society estimates that by year-end 2007, over 2,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among men in the United States. Though breast cancer is 100 times less common among men than women, men may not realize they can be at risk and thus may ignore breast lumps assuming they are just cysts of some kind. For this reason, men may not get medical treatment soon enough, and, because they have less breast tissue, malignant tumors do not have far to go to reach the underlying muscle tissue. For men, the extent of spread beyond the breast is most critical to the prognosis.
Because breast cancer in men is uncommon, so is screening mammography. Men with more than one female relative with breast cancer may be advised by their doctor to have a mammogram, but all men are advised to be aware of any changes in their breasts, especially after age 65.
