I read a news item recently about a British man who sued his government to receive treatment with herceptin, one of a new generation of drugs commonly prescribed for advanced cases of breast cancer instead of traditional chemotherapy.

This reminded me, of course, that although we usually think of breast cancer as a woman's disease, 1 percent of all individuals diagnosed with breast cancer are men. Men also have a 25 percent higher breast cancer mortality rate than women.

When we see a man in our breast center who has breast cancer, he generally receives an automatic referral to a genetics counselor for evaluation and probable genetic testing for BRCA-1 and -2 genes. One of the most interesting findings about male breast cancer is that they are commonly hormone receptor-positive for estrogen.

Men don't do routine breast self-exams and certainly don't see a gynecologist for clinical breast exams. They usually find their lump themselves and are likely to delay telling anyone about it. Mammograms and ultrasounds are used to diagnose a palpable lump.

Men who have a female relative who was diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause - and especially if he has several such relatives covering several generations - should diligently examine his breasts monthly in the shower, just as a woman would.

Just like their female counterparts, men who are diagnosed with breast cancer may genetically pass a heightened risk of this disease to the next generation.