8 Surprising Symptoms of Breast Cancer In Men

Breast cancer is usually attributed to women, but men can have it too. It’s certainly rare, which can be a disadvantage – there’s lack of awareness about men developing breast cancer, according to Hamid Abdollahi, a surgeon at The Plastic Surgery Center.

“Unfortunately, male breast cancer is often detected in advanced stages,” he said. In 2017, the American Cancer Society estimated that “about 2,470 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men and 460 men will die from the disease.” This is why it’s important that people are aware of the signs and symptoms of this rare type of cancer among males.

Breast lumps

These are firm, painless lumps on their pectoral muscles, which is close or behind the nipples. Brandon Behjatnia, MD, a TopLine MD physician, noted:

“This is different from the breast lumps found in benign gynecomastia, or enlarged breasts in men due to hormonal imbalance.”

These lumps are firm and does not move easily under the skin. Breast imaging or needle biopsy is required to check if the lump is cancerous.

Change in breast size or shape

Men should watch out for changes in the shape of their chest or pectoral regions. As Dr. Abdollahi said:

“This is also a sign of something happening under the skin. This is often painless and very slight changes to the area, but serious nonetheless.”

Chest or nipple pain

Dr. Behjatnia explained:

”

The pain related to breast cancer is usually focal and persistent, unrelated to any trauma or physical activity. The pain is predominantly in the nipple area.”

Changes in the nipples

Forty to fifty percent of male breast cancer cases involves changes in the shape, texture, and appearance of the nipple area.

Dr. Behjatnia said:

“These changes may include nipple retraction, or inversion (where the nipple is inverted), redness, scaling or discharge.”

But in some cases, nipple retraction can be a benign condition.

Nipple discharge

Nipple discharge in men is often an early sign of breast cancer. “This one, men usually don’t ignore and this is the trigger that gets them to realize that something is not right and an underlying issue,” says Dr. Abdollahi. The discharge may be clear or with blood. So if you see something like this, go see your doctor immediately.

Changes in the skin

Notice any changes on the skin on your chest? According to Sharon H. Giordano, MD, BCRF Investigator Chair and Professor of Medicine in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center:

“Men with inflammatory breast cancer can present with skin redness or a rash and edema, or the accumulation of fluid in the chest muscle tissue, that can mimic an infection.”

Enlargement of the lymph nodes

The presence of one or more painful lumps under or near the armpit area should make you take notice. Cancer can spread to the lymph nodes. “As a result, when breast cancer does develop in a man, there is a higher chance that the cancer would have spread to the lymph nodes by the time the cancer is detected in the breast,” said Dennis Holmes, MD, breast cancer surgeon and researcher and interim director of the Margie Petersen Breast Center at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center.

Bone pain

The bone is the most common area for breast cancer to spread when diagnosed in later stages. “When this happens, bone pain is the most common symptom and can lead men to seek medical care and get diagnosed,” said Dr. Giordano.