Bloody discharge from left nipple in a man. Sure fire indicator of Cancer?

[mikey873]

I recently experienced a bloody discharge from my left nipple. I am a 35 year old man. I have gone to the doctor and passed the physical exam, no lumps. I had blood drawn and was told that they were doing a prolactin, CBC, and I think a CMT? She said the last one was for some type of metabolic testing. I am totally in the dark, dazed and extremely confused. I was referred out for a mammogram sometime soon. This was one heck of a way to start out the day. I noticed the discharge after completing my 3 mile morning run on the treadmill. I need some answers. Do I need to consider other possibilities? I am not an ignorant man and frankly the visit to the emergency room made me more uncertain. Of course where else can you go for a good medical diagnosis if you don't have insurance? I just need some understanding. I need to be educated and there is a plethora of conflicting info out there. Help please

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

Bloody discharge from a man's breast is not tantamount to cancer.  There can also be benign conditions similar to that in a woman's breast that can cause these bloody discharge such as papillomas or infections.  An increase in prolactin levels that can usually come from a pituitary problem may also cause these discharges.  If the mammogram results are still uncertain, you can go for more sophisticated imaging studies such as an MRI.  I'm also not sure if the mammogram machine can get a good hold of your breast tissues to come up with a good test.

I suggest you proceed with your doctors recommendations as planned and I hope that everything will turn out fine.  Regards.