A man's risk of breast cancer increases with age. In the U.S., about 1,600 men are diagnosed with breast cancer per year and another 400 die of breast cancer. Like women's breast cancer, men's breast cancer can be cured or controlled if it is detected early and treated promptly. The first symptom men usually notice is a painless lump. For a variety of reasons, men's treatment for breast cancer may be delayed until the cancer has reached an advanced stage.
Men are unlikely to regularly examine their breasts.
When men notice symptoms, they tend to delay seeing a physician. Diagnosis and treatment of men's breast cancer is similar to that for women's breast cancer. Surgical treatment may be followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Hormone therapy is another treatment option. Ablative hormone therapy, in which hormone glands are surgically removed, may be used in some cases.