OMAHA, Neb. -- About a thousand men are diagnosed each year with breast cancer, and their struggle is overshadowed by the attention given to the same affliction that kills many more women per year.

Indeed, male breast cancer is rare. But it's also deadly if not caught early enough.

"People don't think men can get breast cancer," said University of Nebraska Medical Center physician Kenneth Cowan. "Men have to understand they do have small amounts of breast tissue, just like women, it's just not developed. But there's the same glandular structure," Cowan said.

The most common symptom is a lump beneath the nipple.

Gary Fiscus, 59, is a music appreciation instructor at Iowa Western Communtiy College. Most of his students don't know he's a cancer survivor.

About eight years ago, Fiscus noticed a small sore growing larger on his right breast. He knew had a family history of cancer but he ignored it. He couldn't imagine it could be happening to him.

"By the time it was larger, about the size of a half-dollar, I said 'I think I'm in trouble,'" Fiscus said. His cancer was caught early, but it came back last year -- and it spread.

Now, it's in his left lung, his left adrenal gland and a small spot on his spine. He's back on weekly chemotherapy treatments. He said he's taking it one day at a time.

"It's kind of a shock, but you just keep going with your life," Fiscus said.