Men can get breast cancer too

American researchers are urging men to become more breast aware following a new study that suggests breast cancer is becoming more common in men, and that widespread ignorance of the condition means that they are leaving it too long before seeking help.

The odds of a man developing breast cancer are still small - of the 41,000 new cases diagnosed in the UK last year just 300 were in men - but changes in the breast, skin over the breast or nipple of a man should prompt the same reaction they do in a woman, and be reported immediately to a doctor.

The vast majority of lumps won't turn out to be cancerous but the sooner we pick up the minority that do, the better the prognosis. Men over 55 and those with a strong family history of the disease (one or more close relatives, either male or female, who have had breast cancer) are most at risk.