Male Breast Cancer and Surgery

http://canceraustralia.nbocc.org.au/men/img/bimb-resource-thumb.jpg

Breast Cancer in Males

While men make up only 1% of breast cancer patients, the disease is just as serious for men as it is for women. Fortunately, while most breast cancer surgery information is targeted for women, much of this information is also appropriate for men.

The types of treatment available for the treatment of breast cancer, including total mastectomy and modified radical mastectomy, are standard treatments for both men and women. The one difference in the treatment of male breast cancer is that a lumpectomy is typically not an option. There is typically far less tissue in a man’s breast than a woman’s breast, which means a tumor of the same size spreads through a greater percentage of the breast in a man than in a woman, making a mastectomy a better option.

The smaller amount of breast tissue can assist in an early diagnosis, as a small lump can be more noticeable in a smaller amount of breast tissue than in a larger amount of tissue.

Breast Cancer Surgery For Males

The course of treatment after surgery may include chemotherapy and radiation and is given as the cancer dictates. Reconstruction of the breast or breasts is a matter of personal preference and involvement of a plastic surgeon early in the surgery planning is important.

The choice to have reconstruction should be made before the mastectomy when possible as immediate reconstruction, or reconstruction during the same surgery as the mastectomy, is possible.

Delayed reconstruction, or reconstruction of the breast after the day of the mastectomy, is also an option. However, some men will require an implant to make the breast size the same as the remaining breast and immediate reconstruction is recommended if an implant is required. This is because the combination of radiation and any skin stretching necessary to insert the implant can damage the skin and decrease the cosmetic appeal of the results.

Comments

Kate Jackson Breast Cancer a flash back

THE MOST MOMENTOUS CHANGE IN Kate Jackson's life began early one morning in January 1987, during her fourth season on the hit TV series Scarecrow and Mrs. King. After a phone call informed her that the show's taping was canceled because costar Bruce Boxleitner had the flu, Jackson went back to sleep. When she woke several hours later, "It was out of the blue, but perfectly clear," she recalls. "I sat up in bed and literally said, 'You have to have a mammogram.' " She did, and two days later a biopsy confirmed her vague fears: A minute growth found in her left breast was determined to be malignant. "I was forced to face, squared up, my own mortality," says Jackson. "I had to decide whether I wanted to live or to die. And if you choose life, as I did, it's never the same." For three TV seasons 16 years ago, she was famous as Sabrina Duncan, a girl-next-door gone glamorous and the character critics dubbed the brainiest o

The four stages of breast development

In Stage 1 shows the flat breasts of childhood. By Stage 2, breast buds are formed as milk ducts and fat tissue develop. In Stage 3, the breast become round and full, and the areola darkens. Stage 4 shows fully mature breasts. (Illustration by GGS Information Services.) period begins. Usually these signs are accompanied by the appearance of pubic hair and hair under the arms. Once ovulation and menstruation begin, the maturing of the breasts begins with the formation of secretory glands at the end of the milk ducts. The breasts and duct system continue to grow and mature with the development of many glands and lobules. The rate at which breasts grow varies significantly and is different for each young woman. Breast development occurs in five stages: Stage One: In preadolescence, the breasts are flat and only the tip of the nipple is raised. Stage Two: Buds appear, breast and nipple are raised, fat tissue begins to form and the areola (dark area of skin that surrounds

"Hard nipples" - areola or nipple skin

Someone once wrote"... when i get really cold, or get goosebumbs all over my body, the whole things really scrunch up, like, my entire areola scrunches itself up into a wrinkled little mound. it looks really weird and ugly, and i haven't ever seen other people's breasts do it. what is wrong with my areola/nipples??" The answer: Well nothing is wrong. This is what my areola does too. It's a normal reaction to the coldness or to irritation / stimulation. The little muscles in the areola do a similar goosebump thing as your other skin can do. People often call this phenomenon "hard nipples". Also note that skin on areola has less feeling or sensation to it than other areas of your body. If the areola was very sensitive, then breastfeeding would probably be quite uncomfortable because the baby pulls and tugs it! The nipples are sensitive but the sensitivity changes with hormonal changes, such as occur at mestrual cycle or pregnancy. Also this v

I am still a woman - Confessions of a twice cancer survivor - my journey by Nina Ann McCurley

Search This Blog