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Experiences of men with breast cancer: a qualitative study

journal contribution
posted on 2007-03-01, 00:00 authored by E Pituskin, B Williams, H J Au, Kris Martin-McDonald
Background
Recent reports indicate that male breast cancer rates are increasing in North America. While there have been numerous large-scale studies examining women's experiences with breast cancer, to date there have been no North American studies examining what a man experiences with a breast cancer diagnosis. The objective of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of a sample of Canadian men diagnosed with breast cancer.

Methods
After written informed consent, unstructured audio-taped interviews were conducted with 20 men. Since little is known about a man's experience with breast cancer, an exploratory qualitative approach was utilized.

Results
Participants experienced concerns related to the lack of awareness of male breast cancer within both public and health professional groups. Many men suffered stress related to the cancer diagnosis, body image concerns and role strain. The lack of male-specific breast cancer information was identified as a major concern. All denied interest in traditional support groups. In retrospect, a number of men felt the breast cancer experience vastly improved their lives.

Conclusions
Needs identified by participants include increased public and health professional awareness of male breast cancer, written information specific for men, and male participation in breast cancer research. Further study is also necessary to identify supports considered helpful by men with breast cancer and other malignancies.

History

Journal

Journal of men's health & gender

Volume

4

Issue

1

Pagination

44 - 51

Publisher

Elsevier Ireland

Location

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ISSN

1571-8913

Language

eng

Notes

Available online 27 February 2007.

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2007 WPMH GmbH. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

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