Think PINK - Breast Cancer Is Everybody's Business! MEN can get BREAST CANCER TOO!

24th October, 2014

By: Brother Khrystus Wallace, The Next Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis

Distributed Globally By: Dare 2 Be Different International Media Department - www.daretobedifferentskn.com

28 Year Old Brother Khrystus Wallace, Aspiring Future Prime Minister of The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis

Think PINK - Breast Cancer Is Everybody's Business! MEN can get BREAST CANCER TOO!

Promoting optimum health would definitely be a PRIORITY on the agenda of The Blazing Star Movement Administration- www.blazingstarmovement.com when we take office in the near future. HUMAN  CAPITAL is MOST important. If our people aren't well then our NATION won't be well either.

Over the last eleven (11) years of my business - KVK ENTERPRISES - www.kvklives.com, the leading T-shirt printing company in The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, around this time of the year we usually start getting orders from around the Caribbean and world to print PINK  SHIRTS or items with a PINK RIBBON having something to do with BREAST  CANCER.

Over the years, I just took the business, full filled the order and moved on. A couple years ago, I decided to do some research on BREAST  CANCER to find out more for myself. Why? I have a mother. I have a two nieces. Someday, I'm going to marry the prettiest most brilliant girl in the world. One day I'm going to get twin daughters. Therefore I decided that it wouldn't hurt if I did some research for myself.

Until I pursue my ultimate dream of becoming a Medical Doctor and major in Orthopedic Surgery, no matter how old I am, I want to say here that I am NOT  AN  AUTHORITATIVE  VOICE  ON  ANY  HEALTH  ISSUE. 

Therefore, during this article, for the benefit of us all, I would be sharing information from CREDIBLE voices around the world, so we can all be empowered and better prepared for BREAST  CANCER and also LEND  FULL  SUPPORT  to those battling this dreadful disease and those who have conquered it.

What is breast cancer? Let's look at in detail.

According to www.breastcancer.org, 

Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. To better understand breast cancer, it helps to understand how any cancer can develop.

Cancer occurs as a result of mutations, or abnormal changes, in the genes responsible for regulating the growth of cells and keeping them healthy. The genes are in each cell’s nucleus, which acts as the “control room” of each cell. Normally, the cells in our bodies replace themselves through an orderly process of cell growth: healthy new cells take over as old ones die out. But over time, mutations can “turn on” certain genes and “turn off” others in a cell. That changed cell gains the ability to keep dividing without control or order, producing more cells just like it and forming a tumor.

A tumor can be benign (not dangerous to health) or malignant (has the potential to be dangerous). Benign tumors are not considered cancerous: their cells are close to normal in appearance, they grow slowly, and they do not invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors are cancerous. Left unchecked, malignant cells eventually can spread beyond the original tumor to other parts of the body.

The term “breast cancer” refers to a malignant tumor that has developed from cells in the breast. Usually breast cancer either begins in the cells of the lobules, which are the milk-producing glands, or the ducts, the passages that drain milk from the lobules to the nipple. Less commonly, breast cancer can begin in the stromal tissues, which include the fatty and fibrous connective tissues of the breast.

Breast AnatomyLarger Version

Over time, cancer cells can invade nearby healthy breast tissue and make their way into the underarm lymph nodes, small organs that filter out foreign substances in the body. If cancer cells get into the lymph nodes, they then have a pathway into other parts of the body. The breast cancer’s stage refers to how far the cancer cells have spread beyond the original tumor.

Breast cancer is always caused by a genetic abnormality (a “mistake” in the genetic material). However, only 5-10% of cancers are due to an abnormality inherited from your mother or father. Instead, 85-90% of breast cancers are due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and the “wear and tear” of life in general.

There are steps every person can take to help the body stay as healthy as possible, such as eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, limiting alcohol, and exercising regularly. While these may have some impact on your risk of getting breast cancer, they cannot eliminate the risk.

Developing breast cancer is not your or anyone's fault. Feeling guilty, or telling yourself that breast cancer happened because of something you or anyone else did, is not productive.

Stages of breast cancer

Stage	Definition
Stage 0	Cancer cells remain inside the breast duct, without invasion into normal adjacent breast tissue.
Stage IA	The tumor measures up to 2 cm AND the cancer has not spread outside the breast; no lymph nodes are involved
Stage IB	There is no tumor in the breast; instead, small groups of cancer cells -- larger than 0.2 millimeter but not larger than 2 millimeters – are found in the lymph nodes OR there is a tumor in the breast that is no larger than 2 centimeters, and there are small groups of cancer cells – larger than 0.2 millimeter but not larger than 2 millimeters – in the lymph nodes.
Stage IIA	No tumor can be found in the breast, but cancer cells are found in the axillary lymph nodes (the lymph nodes under the arm) OR the tumor measures 2 centimeters or smaller and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes OR the tumor is larger than 2 but no larger than 5 centimeters and has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
Stage IIB	The tumor is larger than 2 but no larger than 5 centimeters and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes OR the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters but has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
Stage IIIA	No tumor is found in the breast. Cancer is found in axillary lymph nodes that are sticking together or to other structures, or cancer may be found in lymph nodes near the breastbone OR the tumor is any size. Cancer has spread to the axillary lymph nodes, which are sticking together or to other structures, or cancer may be found in lymph nodes near the breastbone.
Stage IIIB	The tumor may be any size and has spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast AND may have spread to axillary lymph nodes that are clumped together or sticking to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone. Inflammatory breast cancer is considered at least stage IIIB.
Stage IIIC	There may either be no sign of cancer in the breast or a tumor may be any size and may have spread to the chest wall and/or the skin of the breast AND the cancer has spread to lymph nodes either above or below the collarbone AND the cancer may have spread to axillary lymph nodes or to lymph nodes near the breastbone.
Stage IV	The cancer has spread — or metastasized — to other parts of the body.

In closing, as a male, I did some research to find out if MEN can also get breast cancer. To my utter surprise, many sources said YES - which has now shifted my thinking A LOT as a man and it should cause ALL  MEN  TO  RECOGNIZE  THIS  TRUTH  TOO although the probability is LOW - YOU OR  I can possibly fall in that LOW  CATEGORY. Let's learn more.

According to www.cancer.org, A breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that may grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Breast cancer occurs mainly in women, but men can get it, too. Many people do not realize that men have breast tissue and that they can develop breast cancer.

Types of breast cancer in men

Breast cancer can be separated into several types based on the way the cancer cells look under the microscope. In some cases a single breast tumor can be a combination of these types or be a mixture of invasive and in situ cancer. And in some rarer types of breast cancer, the cancer cells may not form a tumor at all.

Breast cancer can also be classified based on proteins on or in the cancer cells, into groups like hormone receptor-positive and triple-negative.

www.breastcancer.org says, Breast cancer in men is a rare disease. Less than 1% of all breast cancers occur in men. In 2014, about 2,360 men are expected to be diagnosed with the disease. For men, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.

You may be thinking: Men don't have breasts, so how can they get breast cancer? The truth is that boys and girls, men and women all have breast tissue. The various hormones in girls' and women's bodies stimulate the breast tissue to grow into full breasts. Boys' and men's bodies normally don't make much of the breast-stimulating hormones. As a result, their breast tissue usually stays flat and small. Still, you may have seen boys and men with medium-sized or big breasts. Usually these breasts are just mounds of fat. But sometimes men can develop real breast gland tissue because they take certain medicines or have abnormal hormone levels.

Think PINK - Breast Cancer Is Everybody's Business! MEN can get BREAST CANCER TOO!