Post-it Sunday 10/8/23- Skin, a memoir by you- breast cancers, particularly male

Yes, I know that I covered thoracic incisions last week. And I was gonna cover head and neck incisions.

oops

However, I realized that I was remiss in covering plastic surgery incisions on the chest. Or breast cancer at all.

These are incisions that don’t go into the thoracic cavity. As they are only skin deep.

I know that they are more than skin deep, I am attempting a metaphor.

Moving on.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month here in the United States.

There is so much information out there about breast cancer. Most of it is viewed from a womanly lens.

Cancer doesn’t care if you are a man or a woman.

Breast cancer also doesn’t care. I’ve done mastectomies on men. Men can also be impacted by breast cancer. 1% of all breast cancers occur in men.

In the US, this is 2300 cases of male breast cancer per year. As a diagnosis, it is also becoming more common. Where it was 1in1,000, it is now 1 in 833, according to the website Go Beyond the Pink.

The CDC numbers are that for every 99 women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, 1 man is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Don’t think that because you are a man with a family history of breast cancers, of BRCA1 or BRCA2 family history, you are safe.

Cancer doesn’t care.

Male breast cancers are more likely to be discovered later than women. Because they are discovered later, the disease is more advanced. And harder to treat. Leading to a higher death rate from breast cancer in men. The likelihood of surviving breast cancer in men is 77.6%, compared with 86.4% survival rate for women.

Risk factors include, from the CDC: age, genetic mutations such as the BRCA1 and BRCA2, estrogen-containing medication including estrogens that were used to treat prostate cancer in the past, or estrogens that are used in trans patients, weight, FAMILY HISTORY, liver disease, Klinefelter syndrome where there is an extra X chromosome, and certain conditions that affect the testes.

There are minimal guidelines out there for male breast self-examination. What to do, where to feel, when to do the self-exam.

Every little bit of education helps.

Every little bit of raising awareness helps.

Don’t be afraid of the pink.