Treatment

To determine your treatment options, your doctor considers your cancer's stage, your overall health and your preferences. Male breast cancer treatment often involves surgery and may also include other treatments.

Surgery

The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor and surrounding breast tissue. The procedures include:

• Removing all of the breast tissue (mastectomy). The surgeon removes all of your breast tissue, including the nipple and areola.
• Removing a few lymph nodes for testing (sentinel lymph node biopsy). The doctor identifies the lymph nodes most likely to be the first place your cancer cells would spread. Those few lymph nodes are removed and analyzed. If no cancer cells are found, there is a good chance that your breast cancer hasn't spread beyond your breast tissue. If cancer is found, additional lymph nodes are removed for testing.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams, such as X-rays and protons, to kill cancer cells. In male breast cancer, radiation therapy may be used after surgery to eliminate any remaining cancer cells in the breast, chest muscles or armpit.

During radiation therapy, radiation comes from a large machine that moves around your body, directing the energy beams to precise points on your chest.

Hormone therapy

Most men with male breast cancer have tumors that rely on hormones to grow (hormone-sensitive). If your cancer is hormone-sensitive, your doctor may recommend hormone therapy.

Hormone therapy for male breast cancer often involves the medication tamoxifen. Other hormone therapy medications that are used in women with breast cancer haven't been shown to be effective for men.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses medications to kill cancer cells. These medications may be administered through a vein in your arm (intravenously), in pill form or by both methods.

Your doctor might recommend chemotherapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that might have spread outside your breast. Chemotherapy may also be an option for men with advanced breast cancer.