Did you know?

While the vast majority of breast cancer diagnoses involve women, men are not immune to the disease. According to the American Cancer Society, the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is about one in 1,000 among men in the United States. By comparison, the risk for women in the United States is one in eight. While a man’s risk for breast cancer is considerably lower than a woman’s, the ACS still estimates that roughly 480 men will die from breast cancer in 2018, when more than 2,500 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men. In addition, the ACS notes that black men diagnosed with breast cancer tend to have a worse prognosis than white men. Though breast cancer may be a disease widely associated with women, men should not hesitate to report any discomfort to their physicians, as the National Cancer Institute notes that men are often diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage than women. The ACS suggests that men may be less likely to report symptoms, thereby leading to delays in diagnosis. The more advanced the cancer is at the time of diagnosis, the lower the patient’s survival rate. Men are urged to report any discomfort or abnormalities in their chests to their physicians immediately.