Men Get Breast Cancer

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Breast cancer affects one out of eight women. It gets a great deal of attention as well it should and there have been numerous studies looking at various treatments and ways to detect it early if possible.

What many people don't realize is breast cancer can affect men as well.

Certain women with breast cancer have genes that increase the risk of breast cancer and the more we learn about the role of genes in cancer the more we realize that women are not alone. In fact, men with female relatives who have cancer associated genes also face greater odds of developing may forms of cancer - including breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common major cancer in American women. There are more than 178,000 new cases and more than 40,000 deaths from it every year.

As for men, about 2,000 cases are estimated to occur this year.