Is It Male Breast Cancer?
RandomArtist asked:
One day while I was laying down, I felt like there was a slight itch near my nipple. While I was scratching I felt something hard. Something was hard and covering a small area of my nipple. Is it male breast cancer or something else?
If it is something else, what is it then?
Something+else.
Male+breast+cancer+is+rare+but+not+unknown.+It+is+far+more+likely+to++be+a+cyst+or+a+fibroid.+However+it+should+be+checked+out+by+your+doctor.+He+or+she+can+order+an+ultrasound+since+you+would+not+have+enough+breast+tissue+for+a+mammogram.
I see from your Q&A that you’re school age.
The chances of a teenage male getting breast cancer are as close to zero as makes no difference.
Men do get breast cancer, but fewer than 1% of those diagnosed with breast cancer are male.
And 80% of all people diagnosed with breast cancer are over 50; most men diagnosed with it are over 60.
It’s rare in women under 40, and almost unheard of in under 25s.
So you can see how huge the odds against a teeenage male getting breast cancer are. In fact, if you did have it, your case would be written up in medical journals worldwide because its extreme rarity would make it of enormous interest to the medical profession.
Most breast lumps in men are actually a condition called gynaecomastia, a button-like growth under the nipple and areola area that can be felt and is sometimes visible to the naked eye and occasionally it can be quite tender.
This increase in the amount of breast tissue is not a tumour and occurs due to changes in hormone balances at times like adolescence – your age, in other words.
It’s not unusual and it’s temporary. See your doctor for reassurance.
By the way, there’s no such thing as ‘male breast cancer’; the breast cancer men get is the same cancer that women get, and treated in the same way