Even men can get breast cancer

Men too can get breast cancer, according to an American non-profit organization.The Alliance for Breast Cancer Awareness in Women & Men is the result of the work of graduate students in two communication classes taught by William J.P. Smith Jr., an adjunct instructor in the College of Communication and Information, who is himself a breast cancer survivor.

The group wants to educate the public that breast cancer is a disease that crosses gender lines. “Only one-half to 1 percent of those diagnosed with breast cancer annually in the United States are males. This is one of the reasons it’s perceived as a ‘women’s disease,’” Smith said.

“However, an oncologist in Tallahassee said that figure could be between 10 and 12 percent if men were regularly checked by their doctors, and an oncologist in Los Angeles said it could be as high as 20 percent,” the expert added.

Globally, the percentage is even higher. Research abroad showed the percentage of breast cancer diagnoses for men at 15 percent in Zambia and 6 percent in Egypt and Tanzania, Smith said.