Textravaganza - Campaigns - Men get Breast Cancer Too!

Michael Howard MP and Cherie Blair give public backing for first ever guide aimed at Men with Breast Cancer.

With Breast Cancer Awareness Month just around the corner, it is a timely reminder that men can get breast cancer too.

Cherie Blair launching male breast cancer awareness

And this is why Conservative leader Michael Howard MP and Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair have joined forces to back Britain's first ever guide aimed at Men with Breast Cancer.

The 114 page handbook produced by Breast Cancer Care was launched in June by Cherie Blair who, as well as having a personal link with breast cancer through the death of her aunt, is also the charity's patron.

Michael Howard, not known for speaking about personal issues, revealed movingly that his father Bernard died from the disease: "The cancer which was diagnosed just before Christmas in 1965 came completely out of the blue and was obviously devastating. My father was a strong man but this was hard to take. He accepted it - there wasn't much alternative - but lived for another seven months." Speaking out in support of the Men with Breast Cancer guide, Mr Howard said if the guide had been available at the time of his father's illness, it would have answered many of his family's questions.

Michale Howard talks about male breast cancer

Breast cancer is a rare and isolating disease in men. Approx 300 men will develop the condition compared with the 41,000 women who are diagnosed each year in the UK. Treatment can be successful once caught in time with an 80 percent success rate after five years.

Emotionally, men will have many questions which may not be addressed in breast cancer materials. Indeed, when developing the guide, Breast Cancer Care learnt that most men felt breast cancer materials were, unsurprisingly perhaps, aimed squarely at women.

David Wrigley (53) who was diagnosed with breast cancer at Christmas 2003 said he had been given a leaflet which advised if you are feeling a little depressed while in hospital, put on a little make-up or wear your favourite perfume. Well meaning but not advice most men would wish to follow.

This is one of the reasons why Cherie Blair has endorsed the new guide by saying: "This resource will certainly go a long way to ensure men who are diagnosed have a source of accurate information."

Compact, free and easy-to-follow, the A5 handbook is packed with practical and sensitive information. It covers causes of breast cancer, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and emotional challenges such as anxiety and depression and offers support, assistance and hope for the future.

Emma Pennery, Breast Cancer Care's Nurse Consultant said: " Men
diagnosed can feel very much alone because most resources are aimed at women. Health professionals there will have had considerably less experience in caring for men who have the condition. Each circumstance will be different but it is so important that men don't feel they have to cope on their own.

To order a free copy log on to www.breastcancercare.org.uk

For one-to-one advice, dial the Breast Cancer Care helpline free on 0808 600 8000. Trained nurses and other men with breast cancer can offer support and a friendly ear to those affected.

For those who prefer to go on-line, a chat forum set up by the charity is run each Wednesday between 8pm and 9pm via www.breastcancercare.org.uk/Chat/Livechat

Facts about breast cancer in men:
	Most cases in men occur over the age of 55. In women the incidence rate increases with age
	There is a stronger genetic link which accounts for 15 percent of cases in men compared with 7 percent in women
	The risk is highest in those with one male first-degree relative such as a father, brother or son who has the condition
	Ignorance of the disease in men can lead to long delays in diagnosis which can stretch to nine months
	More than 100 men die of breast cancer each year compared with more than 12,000 women
	The good news is that the survival rate in both sexes is at 80 percent after five years once diagnosed early
	Even though men do not see themselves as having breasts, breast cancer tumours occur in the fatty tissue of the chest rather than the muscle underneath. Suggestions to re-name the illness 'pectoral cancer' would therefore be inaccurate
	Treatment for men is the same for women with options of surgery to remove the lump or a full mastectormy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or hormone therapy
	Male breast cancer accounts for 1 percent of UK breast cancer cases

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