BREAST CANCER IN MEN

Breast tissue in small quantities is usually present in everyone until puberty. This breast tissue consists of lobules and ducts. Lobules are glands that produce milk and ducts help to carry the milk to the nipples. Females develop more breast tissues after puberty as compared to males. But due to the presence of a small number of breast tissues in all males, it may cause to develop breast cancer. Breast cancer in men can be benign (not cancerous) breast disorders or malignant tumors (cancerous). Benign tumors do not spread outside the breast and are not life-threatening. Benign breast tumors are common in women but are very rare in men.

Breast cancer in males includes ductal cancer (cancer that begins in the milk ducts) in situ, lobular cancer (cancer that begins in the milk-producing glands) in situ and Paget’s disease of the nipple. Usually, breast cancer in men is ductal cancer and lobular cancer is rare because men have few lobules in their breast tissue. Breast cancer can spread if the cancerous cells get into the blood or lymph system and are carried to other organs or parts of the body.

Breast cancer usually presents as a painless lump or thickening in your breast tissue. There may be skin retraction, nipple retraction, nipple discharge and enlarged axillary lymph nodes causing lumps in the armpit. Other symptoms include:

●     Crusting or scaling of the nipple

●     Growth of the veins near the nipple

●     Pulling or puckering on the skin under tumor

●     Hot skin and redness

●     Nipple changes (texture change, color change, inversion, etc)

Risk factors for developing male Breast Cancer include:

●     Exposure to estrogen in the form of estrogen-related drugs, such as those used for hormone therapy for prostate cancer can increase the risk of breast cancer

●     Studies have shown that the risk of men breast cancer increases with age and the men in their 60s have a much higher risk of breast cancer

●     A positive family history of breast cancer

●     High consumption of alcohol and high-fat diet

●     Testicles inflammation or surgery to remove the testicles can also increase the risk of breast cancer

●     Other risk factors include obesity which is associated with higher levels of estrogen in the body

Procedures used in the diagnosis and evaluation of breast cancer in men include breast X-ray i.e mammography. Imaging tests where skin scanning is done through ultrasound, CT scan and MRI to better understand the extent of cancer. Also, biopsy i.e taking the tissue sample to determine if cancer cells are present.

Cancertame is an ayurvedic formulation which can be taken in such cases. The recommended dosage varies upon the stage of the cancer for which you can visit the recommended dosage of their website at www.cancertame.com

Cancertame works only as a palliative treatment and it is highly recommended that patients opt for surgery in early stages if possible. 72 hours post surgery Cancertame can be taken in a recommended dose of 1 capsule, 3 times a day, 8 hours apart in order to reduce the chances of recurrence of cancer.

Herbal Medicines for Cancer

Herbal Medicines are the medicine that are made from the plants using the combinations of plant parts such as leaves and herbs as every part of the plant has different medicinal properties. The aim of herbal medicines is to help the body in the restoration process so that the body can regulate, protect and heal on its own. There are different types of herbal medicines for cancer such as Western, Chinese, Tibetan or Ayurvedic medicine.

The medicinal herbs are the well-recognized treatment medicines for cancer. The effectiveness of medicinal herbs has been proved by several clinical studies done on the cancer patients in regard to their survival, immune modulation and quality of life. A range of studies have proved the anticancer properties of several herbs.

Furthermore, herbal formulations like Cancertame are used in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy for helping in improving the efficiency of the therapies, reducing the side-effects and other complications. The herbal medicines are either used for treating the cancer or reducing the toxicity caused due to the chemo or radiotherapy. The clinical studies have shown that the herbal medicines help in the suppression of tumour, increases the sensitivity of the chemo and radiotherapies, improving the immune system mechanisms and reducing the side effects of the cancer therapies. According to the studies herbal medicines have reported the reduction in side effects caused in and after chemo and radio therapy including nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, loss of hair/taste/ smell, cardio toxicity, bone marrow suppression and other serious complications.

According to the recent studies there has been a stronger link between the immune activities around the tumour cells and the tumour growth progression. Thus, the strong immune system keeps a check on the growth of the tumour, therefore facilitating the anti-cancer effect. So, the herbal medicines such as Cancertame are extremely beneficial for the boosting the immunity of the host cells.

Though there are some challenges for the use of herbal medicines as there is lack of guidelines, information for the routine and dosages. But we have got this covered as Cancertame Private Limited has given the dosages guidelines for the herbal formulation which includes taking 2 capsules daily for prevention of cancer in high risk individuals and Stage 1 Cancer patients; 3 capsules a day for Stage 2 cancer patients and post-surgery patients; 4 capsules a day for stage 3 and recurrent cancer patients and upto 6 capsules a day for stage 4 and terminal stage cancer patients.