|
|
According to a new study conducted by an American non-profit organization, breast cancer is not confined to women only. Men are also prone to the risk of developing breast cancer.
The Alliance for Breast Cancer Awareness in Women & Men is the result of the work of graduate students in two communication classes taught by William J.P. Smith Jr., an adjunct instructor in the College of Communication and Information, who is himself a breast cancer survivor.
The aim of the group is to create the awareness in people about the fact that breast cancer is something which affects only women.
According to Smith, “Only one-half to 1% of those diagnosed with breast cancer annually in the United States are males. This is one of the reasons it’s perceived as a ‘women’s disease”.
He also added that, “However, an oncologist in Tallahassee said that figure could be between 10 and 12 percent if men were regularly checked by their doctors and an oncologist in Los Angeles said it could be as high as 20 percent”.
The proportion sees an increase when reviewed on a global basis. When the research was conducted in places outside America, it was discovered that about 15% of men in Zambia suffer from breast cancer where as in Egypt and Tanzania, about 6% of the men have this condition.
