Men are more likely to die if they have breast cancer

At 46 years old, Oliver Bogler (USA) discovered a tumor in his chest but did not care about it for 3-4 months without knowing he had breast cancer.

"I can't imagine myself getting this disease, " Bogler said. As a biologist who regularly works with cancer cells, he still thinks his tumor is not worrisome. According to NPR, Bogler actually has enough reasons to be subjective. Breast cancer is rare in men, accounting for only 1% of cases.

Strong men often don't think they have breast cancer, said Dr. Sharon Giordana, an oncologist at the Anderson Center." They don't think they have breasts. They don't realize that every man owns breast tissue , " he explained. Many male patients like Bogler only go to experts when the disease has worsened.

That seems to be the reason why the survival rate of men with breast cancer is quite low. A 2012 study in Surgical Oncology concluded that only 74% of men with breast cancer survived five years after diagnosis. This figure in women is 83%. Besides, like women, men can inherit mutant genes that increase the risk of disease and pass it on to their children.

Doctors mark Bogler's chest for chemotherapy.(Photo: David Jay).

Men with breast cancer patients are treated by the same method as women: surgery to remove tumors and chemotherapy, radiation therapy and the use of hormonal inhibitors such as tamoxifen. For the Bogler case, he decided to cut the mammary gland although this was not a popular choice because the men did not have much breast tissue to remove.

Another point with sisters, most men who suffer from diseases do not perform reconstructive surgery. Dr. Giordano said they may not know this solution because many people are interested in reconstructing the nipple so that they will not be noticed every time they go swimming, play sports or simply take off.

Because breast cancer mainly occurs in women, men will feel " sexist". Writing on a personal page, Bogler calls his experience "to enter a pink world". Most breast cancer clinics are decorated with pink and devices designed specifically for women. Dr. Giordano recalled a male patient after the biopsy was given a flower-shaped bag of stones with the words "leave it in the bra".

Chung was wary of Bogler, Edward Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer about four years ago and decided to go online for support. He participated in several forums but was not very helpful because the members showed up when he knew his gender. Luckily, Smith found sympathy on another website. This is very important to him. Breast cancer made him feel lost at work, his colleagues were surprised because "most of them never met a man with breast cancer".

Having a disease, what men and women face completely different."Men are very difficult to open up on this," said Living Beyond Breast Cancer executive director Jean Sachs. According to her, patients like Smith or Bogler need to tell their stories to note that other men protect their health. At the same time, people with mutated BRACA genes must understand that they are able to pass on to their children.

In the future, Dr. Giordano hopes to study the mechanism of breast cancer in men as well as effective hormone therapy will be successful and widely applied.