Breast cancer awareness with Walk the Walk

Men get breast cancer too

Whilst long considered an illness affecting only women, it’s a sad fact of life that breast cancer can also affect men – but the stigma and lack of structured support can mean those men are left out of the conversation. That’s where our friends at Walk the Walk stepped in.

When Walk the Walk launched the Men Get Breast Cancer Too! campaign in 2017, the aim was to support six men who had become frustrated that their voices were not being heard. Now almost three years later, there are 20 men uniting to spread the word and get guys talking. 

Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk said: “During the past 21 years, Walk the Walk has been tireless in its passion for raising awareness and raising funds towards finding a cure for breast cancer. The MoonWalk, the original night time challenge, has made a significant impact in helping to raise awareness of the disease, as hundreds of thousands of women and men have united together in their challenge of power walking a marathon in decorated bras!" 

The survey Walk the Walk commissioned from YouGov highlighted that while only 8% of British women never check their breasts, for men it is over 50%, so whilst incidents of male breast cancer are rarer than they are for women, the cancer has often spread undetected, resulting in a much higher number of fatalities. Clearly, there is still a huge amount of work to be done, and that’s why it is so important that this brave group of men are sharing their experiences to help save the lives of others.”

The facts...

• There is currently very little research, and no routine screening specifically for men, so most male breast cancers are found by self-checking their chest, or just noticing changes.
• Male breast cancer affects between 370 – 400 men a year in the UK. However, over 80 men a year die from breast cancer due to not knowing that men can get this type of cancer, and not doing regular checks.
• Breast cancer usually affects men aged 50 and over, but it can be found in men of any age. 

Get checking

Regular checking is so important for all genders, but knowing what to look for can be confusing. To get you on the right track here are some great tips from Walk the Walk.

Breaking the silence is the first big step, so make sure you and your loved ones are aware of what to look for and that by talking about male breast cancer we can break the stigma together. For more information on breast cancer awareness, head online.

Published November 2020