VI men encouraged to get their breasts checked
“Men have breasts and when it comes to cancer men are more vulnerable. Breast cancer is not immune to women alone, men do have breast cancer. I am a breast cancer survivor and there are others here in the BVI,” said Dr Klas Buring, an ardent member of the BVI Cancer Society.
October is recognised as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and countries around the world have been engaging in a number of activities but have been spreading one message in unison and that is that Breast Cancer does not discriminate, it affects both the male and female. According to studies, for every male cancer victim there is about one hundred and fifty women.
“Yes the prevalence among women is way more than that in men but we still need to know that it does exist among men and one too many,” said the doctor.
Relating his story with Virgin Islands News Online, Dr. Buring said his encounter with cancer of the breast started with a ‘blip’ just outside his beast nipple. “At first I thought it was just a little infection but after a while it got a little larger and so they took a biopsy and then it was positive.”
Further tests done on his lymph glands came back positive for cancer, “So just like women I had to have a mastectomy and a lymph node resection in the armpit and I had to have both chemotherapy and radiotherapy and all that took the better part of one year before I could have returned here in the BVI and start working again,” said Dr Buring.
Just as required by a female breast cancer survivor, males have to be very careful with their diets and medication in order to lead a normal and comfortable life just like anyone else. What is keen to note about breast cancer and men, Dr Buring said, is that the disease spreads much faster than it would in a woman.
“As soon as you notice any difference in the breast, cancer is a possibility and this can be a very small change in the breast,” he said, adding that because men’s breasts are much smaller than those of women the spread is actually quicker in men. “That is a risk as it was in my case.”
Dr Buring is appealing to men, not only in the month of October but every day of the year, to be mindful of their breasts and the possibility that men can have Breast Cancer. He said there are a number of men in the Virgin Islands that have been diagnosed with the condition and it is a very rising concern among the male population.
This was further supported by Acting President of the BVI Cancer Society, Ms Gloria Fahie who said to date there are three known male Breast Cancer survivors that have been in contact with the local organization. “We don’t know how many more are out there.
This is not just a woman thing it’s a man, woman and child thing [and] everyone should be concerned about cancer in the whole not just breast cancer,” said Ms Fahie.
She added that the recent response by men to the call to join the fight against cancer has been overwhelming.
Yesterday October 12, 2013 reporters set out to test the response to the question on men’s knowledge of male Breast Cancer. A half hour stake out campaign at the Riteway Shopping Mall saw 50% of men declining to admit that men are and can be affected by breast cancer. Twenty percent (20%) said they were aware while 30% showed signs of concern and opted to get more information.
At the time of the snap survey, Riteway was facilitating a health fair at the frontage of their store. The focus was on “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” and the local cancer society had two booths at the entrance of the store while a special room in the store was dedicated for Breast Cancer examinations.
Public Relations Officer of the BVI Cancer Society, Ms Stacy C. Lloyd said the society is pleased with the response and support received throughout the health fair and urged persons to continue to support the other activities scheduled for the remainder of the month of October.
“We are also calling on persons to join the BVI Cancer Society. We need the support, this is not a me thing, it’s not a you thing, ‘US’, ‘WE’ are operative words when dealing with this. We need to fight cancer together, we need to show love, care and support for persons who are survivors,” said Ms Lloyd.
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