Men’s Right to mammograms
By Sheryl
April 13, 2010
Although mammograms have been making headlines for months because of law changes and female debate, they’re back in the news for a new, and surprising, reason. If you’re reading this and you’re a health professional or are involved in any way with health insurance policy, let me put this scenario and subsequent question to you. A 45-year-old woman comes to you, worried and concerned. Both her parents had breast cancer. She has symptoms similar to what her father had, like knotty lumps under her nipple and fatigue. How quickly would she be told to make an appointment for a mammogram?
| Cunningham was told he’s not eligible. Federal breast screening funds are limited to women. |
Now what if that person was a man, and not a woman: how quickly would HE be sent for a mammogram?
If the man was from Marion, North Carolina and his name was Scott Cunningham, apparently the answer is this: Not so quickly; in fact, not at all.
After losing his job, Cunningham, despite feeling symptoms, put off a doctor’s visit because he had no health insurance. But as his symptoms worsened, he got nervous, and finally contacted a federally-funded local health clinic. And was turned away.
Cunningham was told he was not eligible. The clinical nursing supervisor at the county health department explained that federal breast screening funds are limited to women. However, in all fairness, she did offer to help him find another clinic.
This highlights the fact that breast cancer is not just a woman’s disease. While it’s true that the occurrence of breast cancer in men is much less than in women, it does happen. The National Cancer Institute estimates that last year in the U.S. there were an estimated 1,910 cases of male breast cancer compared with 192,730 cases in women. And because men might be unaware of the fact that they can be susceptible, they might receive a later diagnosis – possibly accounting for a worse prognosis.
Things like age (average age of diagnosis is 67 years old), family history (1 out of 5 have close male or female relatives with the disease) or an inherited gene mutation (the BRCA2 gene probably accounts for about 1 in 10 male breast cancers; the BRCA1 gene accounts for fewer) and a congenital condition (Klinefelter syndrome, affecting 1 in 1,000 men) are all risk factors for male breast cancer, reports the American Cancer Society. Added to the list are also radiation exposure, heavy alcohol consumption, liver disease, estrogen treatment, obesity and possibly certain occupations (like working in a steel mill).
So, ladies, don’t scoff if a man you know has a lump. Sure, odds are that it will go away on its own or turn out to be nothing but a lump, but breast cancer could be a real possibility, too.
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