The 1%

With the car magnets, bright shoelaces, and numerous rallies, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a great time to educate people about this awful, yet treatable if detected early, disease. Yes, I said "people", not "women". 

It is an unfortunate fact that men can be diagnosed with Breast Cancer and all too often the diagnoses is far too delayed because, lets face it, men hate going to the doctor. Male Breast Cancer is a rare condition, making up 1% of those who are diagnosed. Forget Occupy Wall Street, these men are the real 1 percenters that deserve to be grabbing headlines. 

A lump beneath the nipple is the most common symptom with 2,190 men expected to be diagnosed in 2012. Men possess a small amount of non-functioning breast tissue, and like breast cancer in women, treatment depends on the stage of cancer. Most men are initially treated by surgery, though. 

So man up and check yourself! That lump could easily be a fatty deposit, but continually ignoring a potential symptom could lead to a later stage of the cancer. 410 of the 2,190 men diagnosed are expected to die. Those are 410 fathers, brothers, grandfathers, and uncles. I am not trying to shift the focus off of the thousands of fearless women battling this awful disease, but rather show another perspective, one that, because it is the minority, gets pushed under the rug far too easily. 

Male Breast Cancer is a rare, but still relevant disease. So, to the men in my life, rock a pink tie with your power suit. Switch your shoelaces, even participate in a walk, but most importantly don't think you can't get it because you don't fill out a bra. Check yourself out, because 1% is 1% too many.