*Increased estrogen (in males, usually due to treatment for a medical condition, or certain conditions themselves, including cirrhosis, and Klinefelter syndrome);
    *Previous liver or testicular cancer;
    *Family history;
    *The BRCA2 gene mutation;
    *Previous radiation exposure to the chest.

•Men’s treatment is similar to women’s. One chief difference: The next step for most men, after surgery, isn’t chemotherapy, but hormone therapy. Usually only men with advanced disease are given chemo; the majority take tamoxifen.

It’s tempting to read all this and dismiss it as “too farfetched to worry about.” I agree; you definitely shouldn’t worry about it. But there's a difference between worry and awareness. So please let the men in your life know that breast cancer is a possibility, albeit remote. And that, should they ever notice a change in their breasts, they should do the same thing women are taught to do: contact their doctor.

The John W. Nick Foundation is dedicated to male breast cancer awareness. For more information, visit their Web site.