Male Breast Cancer Genes

People, check this out:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_he_me/male_breast_cancer

*Note that there are several stabs at male negligence(naturally). I've emphasized the most severe of them.



Men carry breast cancer genes, too

SAN ANTONIO - Doctors are encouraging a new group of people to consider getting tested for genes that raise the risk of breast cancer: men. Male relatives of women with such genes often do not realize that they, too, may carry them, and face greater odds of developing male breast cancer, as well as prostate, pancreatic and skin cancer, new research suggests.

"Everyone thinks of breast and ovarian cancer and just assumes it's all women. They don't even realize these genes can be inherited from the father's side of the family," said Dr. Mary Daly of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

After seeing breast cancer in several male patients who did not know they were at risk, Daly conducted a small study, which was presented Friday at a conference in Texas. She now is trying to convince more fathers, sons and brothers of women with the genes to get tested.

"Very few of them want to," she said.

Breast cancer is the most common major cancer in American women. More than 178,000 new cases, and more than 40,000 deaths from it, are expected in the U.S. this year.

But men get it, too — about 2,030 cases are estimated to occur this year, accounting for about 1 percent of all breast cancer cases, according to the American Cancer Society. About 450 of these male cases will prove fatal.

The BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 genes markedly raise the risk of breast cancer and are most prevalent among those of Eastern European Jewish descent. In men, they double the normal risk of prostate cancer, triple the risk of pancreatic cancer and make breast cancer seven times more likely to develop.

As part of a larger study on perceptions of genetic risk, Daly surveyed 24 close blood relatives of women who had tested positive for one of these genes and had told their male kin the results.

Six men said they hadn't been told, or had forgotten. Of the other 18, two mistakenly said the test had been negative. Seven did not think the results revealed anything about their own cancer risk. Only five understood they, too, might carry the genes.

Of the six who expressed any interest in being tested themselves, three said they were doing so mostly for their children's sake.

"We try to reach out to the men in these families, particularly men who have little children," Daly said. "If they were to die without being tested, their children would grow up without that information" that they, too, were at risk, she said.

Dr. Steven Vogl, a cancer doctor in private practice in New York, said he recognized that potential when his neighbor was dying of lung cancer and told him how many female relatives had suffered or died of breast and other cancers.

"Being a good doctor, I took a history," and realized the man, an Eastern European Jew, probably had the gene.

"At least it will help his granddaughter" to know of the risk, Vogl said.

Women, too, need to realize they are doing male relatives and their descendants a favor when they reveal their own genetic risk from BRCA genes.

They don't realize they are at risk," or that their grandchildren may be, Daly said.




Uhh..why are we finding out about this phenomenon this late in time?? Oh..I know.. the poor little women have a contract getting inundated with all realms of victimization till it reaches the furthest depths of the Afghanistanian caves before men get any mention of possible peril. New research, my ass.

And, of course, if we DO die of something of which we had little to no prior knowledge, it must be all our fault. We should have surmised it.

If everyone thinks of breast cancer and just assumes it's all women, why the fuck might that BE??

I'm almost sure if we men had been bombarded with the severity of this possible risk of fatality for the last 30 years like the all pampered sex has been, we'd most surely be more cognizant of the possibilities.

Could you imagine the amazement of any clinician if any men were to schedule an appointment and approach one of them and inquire "Could I get a breast cancer check?"
We may as well anounce we've been castrated.

BTW, how much of the funding we men end up relinquishing for women's breast cancer gets rationed toward "our own"? (AAAHAHA..) We'd damn well be paying double!

Also, notice that they wait until pink ribbon October is a month and a half history before releasing this gem??

What a crock of shit.

Sir Paul's Eternal "Gift"

I had just arrived at my friendly neigborhood Whalemart to pay a monthly bill, and shortly, whilst queueing, heard a familiar ubiquitous seasonal tune come forth from the BG; Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time". I've always been a Beatle fan, especially in my youth. To hear a Beatle tune amongst all the other garbage they call music today, it's rather a treat.

In case anyone needs refreshing, the chorus line goes like this:

Simply...having...a wonderful Christmas time...(twice)

And I thought to myself, "The HELL he's having a wonderful Christmas time. Not any more! The way he's been given an assraping by that bitch? Not a chance! Poor guy. He'll be eternally reminded."

Almost immediately, the thoughts thereafter would be to interject that unfortunate dilemma into the song to reflect Sir Paul's more probable state of mind:

Simply...having...an assraping Christmas time...
Simply...having...an assraping Christmas time...

What do you know..it fits!

The same amount of syllables.