CARBONDALE - The American Cancer Society says for every 100 women diagnosed with breast cancer, one man is.

But while male breast cancer might be rare it is no less dangerous, said one local surgeon.

Dr. Marsha Ryan of Carbondale says that part of the danger with male breast cancer is that men might be less likely to come forward to seek treatment if they notice a lump in their breast.

"Breast cancer is so typically thought of as a disease of women that some men might be embarrassed about going to find out about that lump in their chest," she said. "But they need to put that aside because, while it's rare, the risks are very real.

"Most lumps are benign but you never know until you have it checked," Ryan added.

Between 2000 and 2004, 368 men were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in Illinois, a number that is dwarfed by the 42,570 women that were diagnosed over the same period, states Illinois Department of Public Health statistics.

"About a third of my practice is breast surgery, and I am the co-director of the breast center so I see a lot of it (breast cancer)," Ryan said. "But I've seen maybe three cases of male breast cancer."

Ryan said that the treatment for male breast cancer is largely the same as what women endure, including mastectomies.

"For women we almost always can salvage the breast," she said. "In men it's much more difficult to do, there is much less tissue."

Like the treatment, Ryan said the warning signs are often the same too and, most often, a lump is the first sign.

"And it's almost always benign," she said. "But the only way to know is with a physical exam, a mammogram and an ultrasound."

blackwell.thomas@thesouthern.com

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