A couple of months ago, while taking a shower, I notice my nipples were tender and there seems to be some swelling behind both. My sister, an RN, convinced me to go to my doctor. First thing he did was to order a mammogram exam for me since men can also get breast cancer. Fortunately, the grams were negative. I'm apparently going through male metapause (sp?) at age 55 (and I have a loaded SKS - any other questions?). Estrogen levels are a bit high for now. (It also explained some night sweats.)

I asked the mammogram technicial how common it was for men to have them and she said her guess would be about 9/1 compared to women. For me there was no pain, just a bit of pressure, and she said that is common for men. Actually it helps the doctor reviewing the grams since the breasts are flatter.

So guys, take your attention away from the breasts of the opposite sex for a while and check out your own at least once a month. Any tenderness, lumps or swelling should be discussed with your doctor.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 01, 2002

Answers

It's VERY important for all of us to keep an eye on our breasts for signs of breast cancer. Breast cancer doesn't always run in families. My boss was just diagnosed with breast cancer. No family history. My mother and her sister had breast cancer several years ago(now both cancer free!) with no family history. A year ago my cousin(her mother had breast cancer)was diagnosed with breast cancer and they found it to late, we just buried her a week before last christmas. She had chemo. and raditation both and nothing helped. I tend to preach about the subject, but it has hit to close to home. The earlier the detection, the better your chances to beat it. NEVER think it won't happen to you (male or female) because it can!

-- Jo in PA (farmerjo02@yahoo.com), February 01, 2002.

Men also need to examine their testicles on a regular basis. Get to know current size, shape and vessel size. If anything seems unusual, go see your doctor. (And it is very common for one testicle to be larger than the other.)

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 01, 2002.

Ken,

My doctor actually told me that some studies suggest that as much as 50% of male lung and chest cavity tumors were actually breast cancer and if mammography were utilized could be caught with less complications than in females.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), February 01, 2002.

I wish someone would do a study on how the hormone levels of males are altered by consumption of soy products, and how that affects their long-term health. Of course, whatever institution would do such a study, would find their funding restricted in future. Guess that's why such studies are not done.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), February 01, 2002.

daffodyllady, studies of the effect of soy on male cancer have been done. However, they've concentrated on the by far most common male cancer - the one that is even more common than breast cancer is in women - prostate cancer.

Fact is, prostate cancer is even more common in men than breast cancer is in women; but women - or their breasts - have managed to highjack the publicity. I can understand that - I'd rather - well, anyway, I would! However, it turns out that prostate cancer is almost non-existent in Chinese and Japanese men eating a traditional (rich in soy) diet, and there really can't be too many concerns about the effect of phytoestrogens on fertility if we look at Asian history.

One of the big reasons that prostate cancer is more common than cancer is that doctors have reached a decision that it's better to leave prostate cancer alone, rather than cure it. They'd rather cure breast cancer. They can hack that around without people piddling all over them - in court as well. That's a fairly harsh statement, but true.

My father (85+ years of age) has prostate cancer. They detected it early (blood tests - pre-symptomatic). They are treating it (oestrogen implants - the prostate cancer develops with testosterone, and oestrogen acts as a testosterone antagonist, and hence enormously slows the growth of the cancer). The alternative would be an operation, and the prostate gland is part of what controls male urination - remove it, and you'll dribble continuously. They say that men with prostate cancer more often die with it than of it - i.e. they are so old that something else carries them off before the cancer does. One of the benefits of a public medical system - he's been paying taxes all his life, he's served in our nation's armed forces during time of war, now he's getting oestrogen implants on a quarterly basis that cost almost $2000 Australian dollars a throw - it would be difficult to meet that cost from the resources of our family, and almost impossible to guarantee to do it when necessary every time without fail and without delay. Of course, they probably take about $5 to make, and $30 to administer.

However, it does mean he's living with cancer - as are many men his age or older (e.g. my uncle, his brother, in whom it has metastasized, got into the bone, and he could and will die any day or week or month - and more than likely a good thing too, as the morphine painkiller he most desperately needs means he's mostly hardly with us anyway).

A deliberate decision has been made NOT to cure my father's cancer, and I believe that's having an effect on his morale. He knows the cancer's there, he knows it's growing - albeit slowly. He's seen what it's done to friends, he sees what it is doing to his brother. He knows there is some undefined limit after which he will die of cancer, and unless they come up with a cure the best he can hope for is that he'll die sooner of something else. He can plainly see they're working on treatment rather than cure, with most of the rest of the money going to lung cancer (he stopped smoking 45 years ago - I remember - he was distinctly snippy at the time), and breast and uterine cancer (he only earned that money, but as it happens they've got him pigeon-holed, so now the money is being taken away from him to go to the other sex, who vote for longer than males do (no surprise - they are getting the medical money).

His morale appears to be slipping, and I'm not surprised - so would mine.

Anyway, remain aware of your urination as well, guys. If it becomes difficult to get it all out at once, but instead you need to go often, but only achieve a little each time, then get a (medical) finger up your bum. After about 45 years of age, you should probably be paying a (knowledgeable) person to stick their finger up your bum once a year.

What fun!

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 01, 2002.

Guys: Also Liver Functions are necessary if you smoked somewhere in you life, Pot. Pot alters your liver functions and the male hormones, giving you ginecomastia, (breasts in males) which could be unilateral of bilateral, so if you where a kind of happy, during the 60's and "Pop the Magic Dragon" you should check your testicles more often that the regular Joe, and your nipples, and once a year check your prostate, and this should be done by an Urologist, Liver Functions are advisable. During your prostate examination, the doctor must look for nodules. The best way of doing this is you stand up. bend over and put the tip of your feet touching each other while the calcaleal area (heels) area, you should put them away from each other. This relax the rectal sphinter. The test would give you some pain, and some liquid should leak after the test is done, don't worry about it, also erection may happen, this is a normal nerve response. Always get a doctor that you trust. If you are 35 or older you should have the test done every two years if you are 65 or older every year. But if you "pet the dragon" regarless of your age you should do it every year. I hope this will help some of the shy guys out there. This was the way it was recommended to me. Bye Ralph.

-- Ralph Roces (rroces1@yahoo.com), February 01, 2002.

My doctor is proactive, but within reason. He strongly encourages an annual full blood work-up. I'll get a call from his staff it is time to come in and pick up the paperwork. The hospital next door draws the blood and provides him with the results. I'll either get an all clear call or be called to make an appointment to discuss the results. He feels this is important for him to be able to track results from year to year to see if any patterns are developing, which need further attention. For example, if chrolestrol is rising, changes in my diet will be a topic.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 02, 2002.

Don, I don't know if you have the alternative in Australia of the Isotope in the prostate, this is a radioactive material, that is implanted in the prostate. The radiactivity does not affect your family of the rest of the body, and it "kills" the prostated cancerous cells. I have two or three persons that I know they are having this treatment, they go once a month to their doctors, to mensure the PSA which is the hormone present when you have prostate Cancer. Usually after the Isotope its implanted the PSA starts comming down. Also if the male is very old and has not very drastic symptoms, here in the state we do... well... nothing.

-- Ralph (rroces1@yahoo.com), February 06, 2002.

Ralph, that's wot I sed - more or less. Leave the old buggers hoping they'll get sick and die of something else first - just about a guaranteed self-fulfilling prophecy, and cheaper than keeping them alive too. Sounds like your health services are "parsimonious" too.

Actually, we have some availability of medical radioactive isotopes, but they're too scarce - idiots protest against the only place in Australia which makes them. That being the case, and since oestrogen works fairly well for prostate cancer, then the radioactive isotopes get shunted to other forms of cancer which don't have alternative treatments.

I do sincerely hope the protesters find themselves needing what they've ensured won't be available.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 07, 2002.

"Many women are afraid of their first mammogram, but there is no need to worry. By taking a few minutes each day for a week preceding the exam and doing the following exercises, you will be totally prepared for the test and best of all, you can do these simple exercises right in your home.

EXERCISE ONE: Open your refrigerator door and insert one breast in door. Shut as hard as possible and lean on the door for good measure. Hold that position for five seconds. Repeat again in case the first time wasn't effective enough.

EXERCISE TWO: Visit your garage at 3AM when the temperature of the cement floor is just perfect. Take off all your clothes and lie comfortably on the floor with one breast wedged under the rear tire of the car. Ask a friend to slowly back the car up until your breast is sufficiently flattened and chilled. Turn over and repeat with the other breast.

EXERCISE THREE: Freeze two metal bookends over night. Strip to the waist. Invite a stranger into the room. Press the bookends against one of your breasts. Smash the bookends together as hard as you can. Set up an appointment with the stranger to meet next year and do it again.

YOU ARE NOW TOTALLY PREPARED!"

I hope this doesn't scare you....

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), February 12, 2002.