“X-Men” actor and former wrestler Tyler Mane’s announcement that he has breast cancer may prompt men to increase their vigilance about a disease closely associated with women, doctors say.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Mane revealed his diagnosis to fans in an Instagram post Monday, saying he wanted to spread awareness about breast cancer cases among men, for whom “it’s rarely talked about, it’s usually found at later stages and has worse outcomes.”“This is a valuable reminder that men can get breast cancer and that the treatments are very similar to those for women who have breast cancer,” said Dr.Harold Burstein, director of breast cancer education the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
“And as with many women who have breast cancer, the prognosis can be very good with successful treatment.”For many men, he added, “it’s just not widely known that it’s a possibility.” About 2,670 men are expected to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society, with an estimated 530 deaths associated with the disease.In women, by contrast, about 321,910 new cases of breast cancer are projected to be diagnosed, and 42,140 women are expected to die of the disease.For women, the five-year breast cancer survival rate can be as high as 99% if it is diagnosed when still localized, according to the American Cancer Society.The primary danger comes when the cancer has spread to distant organs of the body, which can lower the rate to 33%.“Tyler Mane has acknowledged that it’s a very treatable condition, which is true,” Burstein said.
“But most people really hadn’t heard of male breast cancer and some people even thought it might be embarrassing to be a man who had breast cancer.So I think there is real value to having these kinds of dialogs.” Dr.
Ben Park, director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said t...