CNN.com reported that men are being encouraged to be aware of breast cancer risks.

Male relatives of women with such genes often do not realize that they, too, may carry them, and face greater odds of developing male breast cancer, as well as prostate, pancreatic and skin cancer, new research suggests.

“Everyone thinks of breast and ovarian cancer and just assumes it’s all women. They don’t even realize these genes can be inherited from the father’s side of the family,” said Dr. Mary Daly of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

According to the American Cancer Association men make up about 1% of all breast cancer cases,  which means about 2,030 men will develop breast cancer every year.

For more on cancer prevention and support visit http://www.cancer.org