Breast Cancer In Men
Breast cancer strikes men, too. The big problem is most men are not looking for it.
As breast cancer victim Mark Goldstein learned, the diagnosis can be shocking, reports CBS This Morning's Medical Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay.
On a Saturday morning in Davenport, Iowa, nearly 10,000 women are warming up for a 5 kilometer run to support breast cancer research. The women run for their families, their friends and themselves.
Running with all the women is one man, Mark Goldstein, a 66-year-old communications executive from New Jersey. He knows the disease firsthand. This married father of three was diagnosed with breast cancer 11 years ago.
"Just by accident, I was examining myself and I discovered that my left nipple was being pulled in. It was receding and there was a growth," said Goldstein.
The diagnosis was a shock for Mark and his wife. Man's cancers are typically below the belly button. We have prostate cancer, we get testicular cancer, colon cancer. We're not supposed to get a woman's disease, and that would include breast cancer, said Goldstein.
But breast cancer isn't just a woman's disease. This year alone, it's estimated, 1,300 men will be told they have breast cancer and 400 will die from the disease.
Male breast cancer has risen 50 percent in the last three to four years.
"We're not entirely sure why that trend is. If that trend continues, then this will certainly become more of a health concern for men," said Dr. Patrick Borgen, who has treated many men with breast cancer and says most have a hard time dealing with the diagnosis.
He said, they can feel humiliated by this. Men often don't talk to their co-workers and colleagues about this. They're embarrassed about it.
Mark Goldstein said breast cancer was not an assault on his masculinity. After a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, he identifies with women who have been through the same thing, but runs to send a clear message to men.
"Men shouldn't die of breast cancer out of ingorance. So, you should be aware, said Goldstein.
Mark's message is getting through. His wife, Joan, told of a man who telephoned Mark after reading about her husband. The caller said he owed his life to Mark. It seems he had cysts in his breasts that turned out be breast cancer.
Senay said men with a family history of breast cancer, or prostate cancer, should check themselves regularly. If you notice a change, talk to your doctor about it.
She said one thing men do is wait. Women don't wait as long as men to have something checked out, so men really should talk to their doctor right way if they notice any changes at all.
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