In this month of Breast Cancer Awareness, the world seems bathed in the color pink in an effort to heighten awareness of this terrible disease and plead for researchers to find a cure.

Pink, often thought of as specific to females, is enormously important to men as well when it comes to breast cancer. 

The incidence of male breast cancer is much less common then female breast cancer, however the American Cancer Society estimates that almost 2,000 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year.  Almost 400 of them will die from the disease.

Benzene, used as a gasoline additive, is formed from natural processes such as volcanoes and forest fires, as well as from human activities.  Also a component of cigarette smoke, Benzene ranks among the top 20 chemicals produced and used in the United States.  Found in a number of hazardous waste sites in the US identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), benzene is primarily used as a solvent and as a starting material for the synthesis of other chemicals.  It is a sweet smelling colorless liquid, and a highly flammable volatile chemical that evaporates quickly.

In the largest study of men diagnosed with breast cancer, benzene was implicated as a contributing factor in male breast cancer.  Dr. Johnni Hansen, Danish Cancer Society, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen, Denmark and colleagues performed an occupational study based on men who had worked for 10 years or more in professions involving exposures to gasoline fumes and combustion finding significantly increased rates of breast cancer; even more prominent was the effect seen in men who began their jobs before age 40.

"If gasoline and combustion products cause breast cancer in men, it probably does so in women too," remarked Hansen.

Researchers examined lifetime employment records of 230 Danish men diagnosed with breast cancer, matching each case with 56 men who did not have the disease.  Those men who had jobs for at least three months in gas stations, vehicle maintenance, wholesale gasoline sales or car repair shops were considered to have been exposed to gasoline fumes.

Hansen reported that the men who had been exposed to gasoline and combustion products for at least three months were more than twice as likely to develop breast cancer as those who had not been exposed.  Men who began working in those venues before age 40 were almost four times as likely to develop breast cancer.

At the time of the study, Hansen noted that though breast cancer is rare in men, the disease in men seems to be linked to many of the same factors as in women.  These factors include family history of breast cancer, prior non-malignant breast disorder and exposure to ionizing radiation. 

Prior studies have linked exposures to benzene and certain hydrocarbons, both products of gasoline and diesel fuels combustion, with breast cancer in women and in animals.

"Since (these hydrocarbons) and remnants of uncombusted gasoline are exhausted from automobiles to the general environment, the breast cancer risk particularly of women may be of public concern," Hansen explained.

When Joe from Columbus Ohio was diagnosed with breast cancer he remembers his first symptom was an inverted left nipple.  As the "pulling in" of the nipple increased, it became very painful, even waking him at night. 

Seeking the counsel of his physician, who initially did not think Joe had breast cancer, his diagnosis was confirmed and he was referred to a breast specialist who removed the tumor.

Now a breast cancer survivor, Joe has come in contact with other men with breast cancer and hopes the media will raise awareness of male breast cancer along with women's breast cancer.

An inverted nipple and/or lump in the breast should be taken seriously whether in men or women.

Breast pain is less a common symptom, but as Joe's case clearly illustrates, the best course of action if a physical change is noted, is to consult with a health care professional.

In this month of Breast Cancer Awareness, remember to encourage the men in your life, especially those with heightened risk factors, to perform self-breast exam and seek valuable information that may save their life.