Women are no longer alone in battling breast cancer

Women are not alone to suffer from breast cancer. Cases of breast cancer in men are also on the rise.

Representing less than 1 percent of cancers in men, male breast cancer tumors are often diagnosed at an advanced stage. Researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report a significant increase in male breast cancer over the past 25 years, reports Healthtalk.ca

According to Theage.com.au researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre studied data on more than 2500 cases of male breast cancer and more than 380,000 women with it. They found that men are usually diagnosed with breast cancer much later than women, with the average age of detection 67 and 62 respectively.

Tumours are easier to detect in men than women because male breasts are far less fleshy, making abnormalities easier to find. But there are fears that many men are unaware they are susceptible, so are more likely to be diagnosed with a later stage of the disease, which has already spread.