6 Things Men Affected By Breast Cancer Want You To Know

6 Things Men Affected By Breast Cancer Want You To Know
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While the shops are filled with pink ribbons and limited edition makeup for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it's vital we remember it's not just women who are affected by breast cancer.

Women do make up the majority of people who are diagnosed with breast cancer - around 49,900 women were diagnosed with the disease in the UK in 2011.

But we shouldn't forget that 350 men in the UK were diagnosed with the disease in the same year.

The common misconception that breast cancer is a "woman's disease" often means men delay seeing their GP about symptoms and reduce their risk of surviving cancer.

So to prove the point once and for all that men get breast cancer too, here are six things that guys who have been affected by the disease want you to know.

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Tests feel like they're geared towards women

As women make up the majority of people who are diagnosed with breast cancer, it makes sense that tests and forms have been created with women in mind. But that sometimes makes things harder for men.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer B. D. Colen discovered a lump in his breast last year and has blogged about his experience of being tested for breast cancer.

"I found myself in the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women's for an examination by a nurse practitioner. And boy, did I feel out of place," he said.

"The young women at the front desk did their best to make me feel less uncomfortable, but it's hard to feel you belong when you're filling out a form filled with questions clearly written for women. How many pregnancies had I had? Well..."

Men worry about having mammograms, too

Reid Stanley lost his wife to breast cancer and he works in the field of radiology, so he knew what to expect when his doctor told him he needed a mammogram to look at a lump in his breast.

Despite this, he still worried about the procedure.

"I was so nervous when I called to get the appointment, even though it's with my own department," he said.

"Would I be laughed at? I know there are occasionally men who have mammograms - I've preached this for years. But now, it's me, and I feel like the only one in the world. Just like every other woman who is suddenly facing this."

Men need to self-examine their chest area

Dale Pillow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 at the age of 62.

At the time, he urged men to take a pro-active approach to looking for the signs of male breast cancer.

"When people would hear about my situation, they would first say how sorry they were to learn about it and then they'd always comment how they didn't know men could get breast cancer too," he said.

"Every one needs to learn the facts, and men need to be doing self-exams the same as women."

Pink ribbons aren't inclusive

Software engineer Russ Heard ignored his symptoms of breast cancer for almost a year before he was diagnosed because he didn't think about the possibility of getting breast cancer as a man.

He thinks the feminine merchandising around breast cancer awareness is partly to blame for ignorance among men.

"When you look at the posters in the doctor's surgery, they're all coloured pink. Men think breast cancer stuff looks aimed at women," he said.

"I think it could be made more available to men - and I've heard that comment in the past from male friends who didn't realise men could get it, even though we have nipples and men have breast tissue. It is a possibility."

Men and women do not experience breast cancer in the same way

Breast cancer is difficult for men to deal with, but in different ways than it is difficult for women.

"Given that modern cancer treatments usually involve the surgical removal of the offending body part, I'm actually pretty happy I didn't get a more 'manly' cancer. If I had to give up something, my middle-aged moobs are the first thing I'd offer on the sacrificial altar," cancer survivor Charles Pelkey said.

"There is no emotional connection. Very little of our physical, psychological or sexual identity is wrapped up in ours. Reconstruction - if we opt for it - involves nothing more than a pair of tattooed nipples.

"Chemo bald? Hey, for us, it's not a crisis. These days, it's just hip."

Male breast cancer is nothing to be embarrassed about

Harvey Singer was touched by breast cancer for the first time after his mother and sister were diagnosed one month apart. Then in 2012, Singer himself was diagnosed with the disease.

He noticed a difference in the way his mum and sister felt able to talk about their diagnosis, compared to the way males with breast cancer kept quiet.

"I think the biggest problem around male breast cancer is the stigma - guys don't like to talk about it," he said.

"I decided from the onset that I was going to talk about my disease. The more we can make this a topic of conversation, the more we can make this public, the more we can make people aware that guys can get this."

To get involved with Building Modern Men, email uklifestyle@huffingtonpost.com. If you would like to use our blogging platform, email ukblogteam@huffingtonpost.com.

HuffPost UK is partnering with Southbank Centre’s Being A Man Festival, taking place 27 - 29 November. It will focus on lighthearted, serious and challenging issues facing boys and men in the 21st century. There will be talks and debates, concerts, performances, comedy and workshops with contributions from over 200 speakers and performers, including Akala, Frankie Boyle, David Baddiel and Kellie Maloney. Day passes are £15, 3-day passes are £35. For more infomation, visit the website or call 0844 847 9944.

11 Little Known Breast Cancer Facts
Breast cancer is actually many different types of cancer(01 of10)
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Breast cancer, in its simplest definition, is cancer that starts in the cells of the breast. But what we call "breast cancer" actually includes several different types of cancer, all of which require different treatments and have different prognoses. (credit:Shutterstock)
A lump doesn't always (or even usually) mean cancer(02 of10)
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Most breast lumps indicate something other than breast cancer—some possible causes for breast lumps include cysts, fibrosis, or benign tumours. And some women are just prone to lumpy breasts, which is stressful but harmless. That said, if you find a lump, get it checked out — know that the odds are good that it's nothing serious, but see your doctor about it for your own peace of mind. (credit:Susan G. Komen)
Breast cancer isn't always a lump(03 of10)
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It's helpful to know that breast cancer can appear in forms other than a lump, which means there are other physical signs you should watch for. Other symptoms that you should get checked out include thickening of the skin in the breast or underarm area; swelling, warmth, redness, or darkening of the breasts; a change in your breast size or shape; dimpling or puckering of the breast skin; an itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple; a pulling in of your nipple or another part of your breast; sudden nipple discharge; or pain in one spot of the breast that doesn't go away. (credit:Shutterstock)
Breast cancer risk isn't always determined by family history(04 of10)
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A family history of breast cancer (on either your mother or father's side) can be an indication that your personal odds of developing it are higher than average, but they don't guarantee that you will. As well, the majority of women who develop breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors, including family history. And the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are hereditary, but only account for five to 10 per cent of all breast cancers. (credit:Shutterstock)
BRCA1 or BRCA2 don't always mean cancer is in your future(05 of10)
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The news that Angelina Jolie had had a preventative double mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation made many women wonder if they had the same mutation--and what it would mean for them if they did. If you do have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, your lifetime risk of developing breast cancer or ovarian cancer is significantly elevated, and women with the mutations who do get cancer tend to develop it at younger ages; one estimate states that 55 to 65 per cent of the women with the BRCA1 mutation and 45 per cent of those with the BRCA2 mutation will develop breast cancer by age 70, versus 12 per cent in the general population. But it does not mean that cancer is definitely in your future, and every person has to make her own individual decision, based on a variety of factors, about how to best mitigate her risk of disease. (credit:Shutterstock)
Not all women have a one-in-eight risk for breast cancer(06 of10)
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This often-cited statistic is somewhat misleading. Breast cancer risk varies based on a variety of factors, including age, weight, and ethnic background. Risk increases as you get older (http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/age.htm): most breast-cancer cases are in women in their 50s and 60s. Also, some ethnic groups appear to be more susceptible to breast cancer; the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. says that white, non-Hispanic women have the highest overall risk of developing breast cancer, while women of Korean descent have the lowest risk, but African-American women have a higher death rate. Finally, being overweight or obese may also up your risk; there is evidence that being obese or overweight after menopause can up your breast-cancer risk, possibly because fat tissue is a source of estrogen. (credit:Shutterstock)
There are ways to lower your risk(07 of10)
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You can't prevent breast cancer, per se, but there are ways to lower your personal risk. If you are overweight or obese, you could try to lose weight in a healthful way; if you are already in a healthy weight range, try to stay there. Exercise regularly, as as little as 75 to 150 minutes of walking a week has been shown to have a lowering effect on risk. Limit your alcohol consumption — research found that women who have two or more alcoholic drinks each day have an elevated risk of breast cancer. And avoid hormone therapy during menopause, as a combo of estrogen and progestin has been shown to raise breast-cancer risk. (credit:Shutterstock)
Mammograms aren't foolproof(08 of10)
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Mammograms are a powerful way to detect breast cancer early on, but they aren't 100 per cent. Mammograms are most effective in women aged 50 and over; they detect about 83 per cent of women who have breast cancer in that age group. For younger women, the sensitivity is 78 per cent. However, that does mean some cancers are missed and that there are false-positive results as well, which could require a biopsy to confirm. Talk to your doctor about when you should start getting mammograms regularly, or if you have symptoms that suggest that you should get one. (credit:Shutterstock)
Fertility treatments don't raise your breast-cancer risk(09 of10)
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Some wondered if Giuliana Rancic's fertility treatments were behind her diagnosis of breast cancer in her late 30s, but experts interviewed by WebMD said that there is no strong evidence connecting the disease with the use of fertility drugs. It's true that hormonal treatments can raise the risk for post-menopausal women, but women undergoing fertility treatments are almost never in that age range, and also take the medications for a much shorter period of time. (credit:Getty Images)
Most women survive breast cancer(10 of10)
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Cancer is scary, but in most cases, women who are diagnosed with breast cancer survive and lead healthy lives. According to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada, the five-year survival rate is 80 per cent for men and 88 per cent for women. That's up from 79 per cent for women in 1986. (credit:Shutterstock)