Must Read: Breast Cancer in Men.

In men, breast cancer is very rare. There are about 350 men diagnosed each year in the UK, compared with around 50,000 cases of breast cancer in women.

Information for men with breast cancer

Because so many cases of breast cancer occur in women and it is very rare in men, a lot of the information is directed towards women. But much of the information that men with breast cancer need is the same. 

The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are all very similar to women with breast cancer. The risks and causes do vary slightly and we've covered that below. There are some areas where men need different information to women, such as types of breast surgery. 

We have specific information for men about coping with some of the effects of treatment. Some treatments affect men's fertility and sex life. We have information about the effect of cancer treatment on sex for men. There is information below about finding support. This is important because getting support can be more difficult for men with breast cancer because this is a rare situation.

For all other types of information, men with breast cancer should be able to use this whole breast cancer section freely, picking and choosing the information they feel will be of use to them.

Symptoms of breast cancer in men

The most common symptom for men with breast cancer is a lump in the breast area. This is nearly always painless. Other symptoms can include

• Oozing from the nipple (a discharge) that may be blood stained
• Swelling of the breast
• A sore (ulcer) in the skin of the breast
• A nipple that is pulled into the breast (called nipple retraction)
• Lumps under the arm

If you have any of these symptoms it is important to go to your GP straight away. Finding a cancer early gives the best chance of successful treatment.

Diagnosing male breast cancer

The tests for breast cancer in men usually include a painless scan using sound waves, called an ultrasound. Or you may have a breast X-ray (mammogram). 

If your scan shows up an area that could be cancer, your specialist will take a sample (biopsy) of breast tissue for examination under a microscope. If these tests show that you have breast cancer, you will probably have other tests to make sure the cancer has not spread. These tests are covered on the page about further tests for breast cancer.

There are different types of breast cancer. The most common type in both women and men isinvasive breast carcinoma - no special type. 

An early, precancerous condition called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is diagnosed in men quite rarely. DCIS means that there are cancer cells in the breast. But the cells are all still contained inside the ducts of the breast and cannot spread.

Inflammatory breast cancer and Paget's disease and other types of breast cancer are also found very rarely in men.

Treatment for male breast cancer

The same treatments are used for breast cancer in men as for women. These are all covered in detail in the section about treating breast cancer. Treatment is decided by the stage of your cancer and whether the cancer cells have receptors for particular hormones or biological therapies. The stage means the size of the cancer and whether it has spread when it is diagnosed. The staging system is the same for men's breast cancer as for female breast cancer.