Male breast cancer mortality rate is higher than female

At present, breast cancer prevention and breast cancer knowledge popularization have become a common topic for women all over the world. However, few people pay attention to the fact that men can also get breast cancer. At least 450 men die from breast cancer every year in the world, and in the United States alone, the number of men suffering from breast cancer has increased by 25%. Because men tend to ignore the vigilance of breast lumps, it is often in the middle and late stages when they are discovered, so the mortality rate of male breast cancer is much higher than that of females.

Breast cancer rates among men on the rise

Bill Morey, 52, has been suffering from breast cancer for two and a half years. Although he has undergone mastectomy and chemotherapy every two weeks, the cancer cells have spread to his bones. Morey said that three years ago, he began to feel tingling in his breasts, but he didn't pay attention to it at the time. It was his wife's insistence that he went to the hospital for a check-up. "We have always been worried that my wife might get breast cancer, but it turned out to be me."

The "National Breast Cancer" assessment survey conducted by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center shows that there were 1,600 male breast cancer patients in the United States in 2005. This number has increased at an alarming rate over the past 25 years, which is very worrying. As for the cause of male breast cancer, Dr. Berg of the center said: "This issue is very complicated and has not yet been determined. However, it is known that factors such as increased estrogen in the body, frequent exposure to radiation or a family history of the disease will increase the incidence of breast cancer."

Men are ashamed to admit that compared with women, they know very little about breast cancer and have some concerns about the treatment and recovery of breast cancer. The Cancer Registry of the Alberta Cancer Council of Canada conducted face-to-face interviews with 20 male breast cancer patients from 1975 to 2005. Only two of them said that they had heard of "men can also get breast cancer" before they were diagnosed; and all 20 patients said that they had delayed their treatment due to a lack of knowledge about male breast cancer and corresponding treatment methods.

However, when the survey involved topics such as disclosure of illness, treatment, care and body appearance, most male patients said they were very reluctant to let others know about their disease; only a few were willing to use themselves as an example to educate people to learn more about male breast cancer. On the issue of care, married men said they prefer to seek help from their wives at home, and no man was willing to accept formal care team services. As for body appearance issues, such as whether there will be a certain degree of "shame" after mastectomy, it varies from person to person. Some people will regard it as a scar left from participating in a war and be proud of it; others will try their best to cover it up.