Thornbrugh: Breast cancer doesn’t affect just women

Thursday, October 9, 2008

October is breast cancer awareness month, and for most people this means a celebration and remembrance for the women who have fought and who are fighting this disease. However, what is not so easily remembered is that this isn’t just a fight for the people with two X chromosomes.

Men are not only fighting for their mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives, but are fighting this disease themselves. Men get breast cancer too, and not it’s not just for men who have “man boobs.” In 2008, the National Cancer Institute estimated there were 182,460 new breast cancer cases in women in the United States and 1,990 new male cases. Though the numbers are staggeringly different, this does not mean we can ignore the fact that this exists.

The average time between first symptom and diagnosis for male breast cancer patients is 19 months, according to breastcancer.org. This is partially because men don’t know they can get breast cancer. In 2007 the Journal of Cancer found that men with small tumors or tumors that had not yet spread to the lymph nodes had a shorter survival time than their female counterparts. Men are less likely to survive early cancer, and the early cancer isn’t being detected. Not only that, but if men survive breast cancer they are 16 percent more likely do develop a second cancer of a different kind.

The risk factors for male breast cancer include a numerous different things, but the preventative ones should be focused on. Risk increase as age increase, but can’t prevent getting older. Instead maintain a healthy wait and limiting alcohol consumption keeps estrogen levels normal in men lowering their risk for breast cancer. So the ultimate display of masculinity for a college student—chugging beers for as long as possible as often as possible can ultimately lead to breast cancer.

Supporting men who have breast cancer doesn’t mean we have to take away from the celebration of women. You should still participate in activities such as “Bras Across the Kaw” and the “Save Second Base” campaign going on at Salon Hawk. While doing this though, be aware that even people who don’t wear bras can get breast cancer.

— Thornbrugh is a Lenexa junior in creative writing.

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