Study: Men Less Likely To Survive Breast Cancer Than Women

By Holliday Moore
Published: Friday, October 4, 2019 - 7:11am
Updated: Friday, October 4, 2019 - 8:10am

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and new research shows women are twice as likely as men to survive if diagnosed with breast cancer.

The study published in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association attributes the disparity to the level of awareness about breast cancer between women and men.

Dr. Albert Wendt is both a survivor and a specialist at St. Joseph's University of Arizona Cancer Center who routinely reminds his male patients why breast cancer is more fatal.

"If you aren't suspecting it," he tells them, "you're maybe going to overlook symptoms in the breast area a little while longer whether it be distortion of the nipple breast area, or pain or a lump."

The study found the survival rate for men diagnosed with breast cancer is 46%, compared to 86% for women.

Science