OK - This isn't a horror shirt. It's not about a horror movie, or literature, or even spooky music. It's not even about October or Halloween.
It's about the other thing that October is.
October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month. Because it is, I need to take a step away from my ridiculous preoccupation with fake scary stuff, and talk about some real life scary stuff.
Doctor Z's going to talk about boobs.
Shit's about to get real.
You see, if you've recently started reading... or haven't gotten around to checking my other links... you may not know this.
Doctor Zombie is a breast cancer survivor.
You're probably saying, "Wait a minte, Dr. Z?!? What the fuck? You're a dude! That is, I think you're a dude. I mean, you've got a goatee, and you LOOK like a dude. I mean... what the fuck, Dr. Z?"
Let me put your mind at rest. Doctor Zombie is indeed a dude. I, however, no longer have any nipples and, instead have some awesome Frankenstein-like scars where they cut the cancer out of me. (I'll let the horror of that image - the nauseating image of a shirtless Doctor Z. - sink in. Gross, right?)
Here's the truth of the matter. Dudes can get breast cancer too. Male moob cancer is rare and the overall ratio of female to male breast cancer is 100 to 1; which means about 2,140 men are expected to be diagnosed in 2011, and about 450 will die.
The fatality rate in men is significantly higher because:
• Dudes may ignore the warning signs that tell them something is wrong.
• Dudes may not tell their doctor about what they are feeling because they are embarrassed or worried.
• Dudes may wait too long to get help.
Common symptoms of male breast cancer:
• A lump in the chest area
• Skin dimpling or puckering
• Nipple changes
Men don’t think of themselves as even having breasts. For men, it’s their chest or their “pecs.” So it comes as a surprise to most men to find out that they are at risk of breast cancer. Most men don’t know they can get moob cancer.
The key to beating breast cancer - in men AND women - is finding it early and getting treated right away.
Talk to your doctor right away if you have any of these warning signs:
• You feel a lump, a hard knot or swelling in your chest area.
• The skin on your chest dimples or puckers.
• Your nipple pulls in toward your chest wall.
• You see any redness or scaling on your nipple.
• There is a discharge coming from your nipple.
Don’t wait.
1 comment:
thank you for speaking out about this. you rule!
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