Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Health Watch, we’ve been talking about breast cancer, as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month draws to a close. While most discussion about breast cancer is aimed at women, men can also suffer from breast cancer.
Male breast cancer is much more rare, but it still kills about 400 men a year. Dr. Phil Evans, director of the Southwestern Center for Breast Care at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says male breast cancer is rare enough that widespread screening among men isn’t necessary. Most men discover cancer as a painless lump in the chest. From there, the diagnosis and treatment is the same as for women. Doctors will evaluate the lump with physical examination, mammography and ultrasound, and cancer is usually confirmed with a biopsy. The cancer is treated with surgery and chemotherapy or radiation. Although male breast cancer is rare, men should talk to their doctors if they notice a lump.
Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.org/radiology to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical services in radiology.
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October 2008
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