It’s that time of year when the world is cast in pink to remind us all that breast cancer is a very real — and very dangerous — disease. 

One in eight American women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives ... and one in 726 men will too. 

If that latter stat comes as a surprise to you, you’re not alone. 

The myth that breast cancer only affects women is very real — and very dangerous. 

Here are the facts:

• Men have a lower risk of breast cancer than women, but nearly 3,000 American men are diagnosed with the disease every year. 

• Most breast cancers in men are not inherited — which is also true of women — but just like women, men can also carry a mutation in the infamous BRCA gene, an inherited trait which increases their risk. 

• The mortality rate for men with breast cancer is 19 percent higher than that of women — in large part because men are less likely to assume a lump in their breast tissue is cancer. 

• The most common breast cancer in men is the same as the most common type in women — estrogen receptor (ER)–positive invasive ductal carcinoma. 

• Male breast cancers have also been found to be biologically and molecularly different from female breast cancers, but research funding is almost exclusively focused on female breast cancer, which makes treatment more challenging. 

In its nearly 40-year history, Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been credited with decreasing breast cancer mortality by up to 20 percent thanks to early detection via mammograms. Meanwhile, survival rates for male breast cancer have not significantly improved in the last 30 years.

As we mark another “Pink October,” you’ll spot reminders at every turn for women to perform their self exams. 

This one’s for the guys — you need to do it too. It could save your life.