Phoenix doctor says men should be more aware of breast cancer risk
Oct 4, 2019, 1:00 PM
Mike Kucharo, left, of Phoenix, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, talks to Dr. Albert Wendt of the University of Arizona Cancer Center at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. (KTAR News Photo/Griselda Zetino)
(KTAR News Photo/Griselda Zetino)
PHOENIX – October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, which means you’ll see plenty of pink out there, a color generally associated with femininity.
But a Phoenix doctor is spreading the word that the disease doesn’t strike only women.
“We don’t think about men having breast cancer, but it does happen,” Dr. Albert Wendt of the University of Arizona Cancer Center at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center said during a press conference Thursday.
While far fewer men than women get breast cancer, the disease is fatal at a higher rate for men.
A recent study in JAMA Oncology found the overall breast-cancer survival rate for men to be 45.8% for men and 60.4% women.
“It may be in part that men don’t recognize themselves as being at risk for breast cancer,” he said. “And so if you aren’t suspecting it you’re maybe going to overlook symptoms in the breast area a little while longer.”
Wendt said that the lack of early detection among men plays a role in the survival rate disparity.
“If you find early breast cancer in a man, it should be highly treatable,” he said.
Wendt said the symptoms to watch for include distortion of the nipple or breast area, nipple discharge, pain in the area or any kind of a lump.
He also said there’s evidence men with high risk factors, such as family history and genetic predisposition, could benefit from mammography screenings, something not often done.
Men are diagnosed with breast cancer about 1% as often as women, which Wendt said can lead to the risk being overlooked.
“I still think that there’s a lot of vague information out there for men and it’s not emphasized; 2,700 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer [nationally] compared to 260,000 women this year, so that just is not a high priority for people,” he said.
Mike Kucharo of Phoenix, who was at the press conference, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014.
“At first it was, ‘Oh my god, what am I going to tell people? I mean, this is embarrassing … a guy having breast cancer. What are people going to think?’ But I got over that pretty quickly,” he said.
Kucharo encouraged men to tell their medical professional about any concerns.
“If you think something may be a little off, don’t ignore it. Go in and talk to your doctor,” he said.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Griselda Zetino contributed to this report.
