Breast cancer is most heavily associated with female patients. In fact, the chances of women getting diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime is one in 8. However, men can also get breast cancer, although their chances of developing it are significantly lower, at one in 1,000.
2016 has been the year of breast cancer awareness for men, as shown in an Oklahoma man who has recently been urging both men and women to check themselves for signs of breast cancer named Anthony Merka. He was diagnosed four years ago when his wife tickled him and discovered a lump, he told Fox News. Merka later had a double mastectomy to treat his disease, and since one of his daughters was found to have the BCRA mutation (which strongly increases a person’s risk of breast cancer,) she goes to the doctor every six months for regular breast cancer tests.
2,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and 440 will die from the disease. And since it is so rare for men to get breast cancer, a lot of the time male cases will go undiagnosed for some time and are more likely to be at a later, deadlier stage once discovered.
Just because men are not often diagnosed with breast cancer doesn’t mean they shouldn’t self-exam, and in cases of a family history of the disease, or those that have mutations in the BRCA gene, screening for the disease by doing careful breast exams may be useful.
2016 also sees the launch of the "Real Men Wear Pink Campaign,” which was conceived by the New York and New Jersey chapters of the American Cancer Society. The program raises awareness about breast cancer by enlisting 25 prominent community leaders in the lower Hudson Valley, including a mix of business executives, medical professionals, and politicians. For the event, participants, who have all been affected by breast cancer in some way, are asked to wear a pink article of clothing every day throughout the month of October and commit to raising $2,500 for the cause through their social media networks and community outreach.
The program kicks off fundraising for “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk of Westchester” scheduled for October 16th in Purchase. “It’s a way to get men more involved with the organization,” said Lillian Jones of the American Cancer Society. “What I found is the participants are finding a way to honor the people they know. It is an opportunity to help other people that makes sense for them.”
12 million participants of ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ since 1993 have helped raise over $750 million for the disease. “We are very excited,” said Jones. “It was really amazing because it’s been really positive for the men who are finding out ways to compete against one another.”
