Dr. Mark Kestner: First annual breast issue – for men only on The Murfreesboro Post

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Dr. Mark Kestner: First annual breast issue – for men only

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By: DR. MARK KESTNER

Posted: Sunday, August 31, 2008 8:31 am

This column is about breasts. It is intended for male readers. You ladies can read it if you want but it is intended for men because women probably already know everything the column will cover.

From a health standpoint, there are dozens of significant breast issues that concern women. Starting with breast development during puberty, women deal with breast issues throughout their lives. There can be concerns related to development, size, shape, appearance, pain, cysts, lumps, pregnancy, breast-feeding and changes related to aging.

Breast appearance is increasingly becoming more important to many women. For this reason, surgical augmentation of breasts is now more popular than ever. Due to advances in cosmetic surgery procedures, women can now choose practically any breast appearance they would like. Most women are seeking an increase in size or to eliminate appearance problems resulting from childbearing, weight loss or aging.

In my practice, I see a number of women that have the problem of breasts that are too heavy. This can cause chronic pain in the neck, shoulders, upper and lower back. Women with this problem may consider breast reduction surgery. Interestingly, many insurance companies now require women considering this surgery for relief of musculoskeletal pain to see a chiropractor before the procedure will be approved. In many cases, the pain can be resolved with chiropractic care or through exercises or therapy.

Probably the biggest health concern of all is the fear of breast cancer. Even if a woman never develops breast cancer during her entire life, the specter of this dreaded disease affects every woman.

At some point in her life, every woman will be impacted by breast cancer. They will have a close friend or a family member diagnosed with breast cancer. Just to be on the safe side, most women practice breast self examination, have regular medical examinations and endure the uncomfortable process of mammography. These efforts are all performed in an effort to catch breast cancer early. Early detection of breast cancer has long been considered essential to improve treatment outcomes.

Recently, however, the practice of breast self examination or BSE has been questioned. In 2003, a study involving more than 300,000 women in Russia and China compared the death rates of women that had been instructed to perform BSE with those that had not. The authors concluded that since the death rate of the two groups was similar, and BSE resulted in more negative biopsies, the practice of breast self-examination could not be supported. Recently that study was revisited by the Danish research group that performed it, and the conclusions were repeated.

Because of this particular study and other similar research, a few groups are no longer recommending women perform breast self-examination. The American Cancer Society refers to breast self examination as “optional.”

There were a number of problems with the design and conclusions of the study. Some medical experts say these groups are using statistical data that originates from looking at a single facet of a very complex issue to make irresponsible recommendations.

Other medical specialists still recommend that women do self-exams monthly. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists still recommends that women include monthly self-examination of their breasts as part of a three-fold approach to early discovery of breast tumors. The other two elements are annual medical examination and annual or semi-annual mammography. Although mammography is considered by many to be the gold standard of screening procedures, some experts feel self examination may be the only way that some tumors are likely to be discovered early enough to be treatable.

Here’s another reason this column is written for men. Did you know it is possible for men to have breast cancer? The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 2,000 new cases of breast cancer in men will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. Several years ago the husband of a patient recounted how fortunate he was that he noticed a lump near his armpit. A biopsy revealed breast cancer early enough for successful treatment.

For more information about your risk of breast cancer and best way to detect and prevent it, see your doctor.

Dr. Mark Kestner
mkestner@DrKestner.com

Tagged under VOICES

Member Opinions:

By: DrKestner on 9/2/08
Because this column is published on the internet, I often get responses from other states and countries. Below is a response from Fred in Florida. Fred wants to spread the word and agreed to posting his comments here. I appreciate Fred's comments and trying to help educate others about breast cancer.
Mark Kestner
Here is Fred's response:

Dear Dr. Kestner,

I'm a 68 year old male and a two year breast cancer survivor. Thank you for your column concerning men and breast cancer published August 31, 2008 in the Murfreesboro Post. I try to inform as many men as possible to get checked by their doctor for lumps etc. When I attend a function where there are a lot of people, I wear a polo shirt embroidered with "Breast cancer effects men also (pink ribbon)

I know...........I'm a survivor." I am fortunate to be Mr. September on a breast cancer fund raiser calendar for 2008 and on the calendar I stated that men need to get checked also. Articles like yours help when I'm talking to men about breast cancer

BC Survivor,

Fred Mieser