Father with Breast Cancer Highlights Male ‘Ignorance’ of the Disease

A father, living with incurable cancer, is appealing to other men to avoid “dying of ignorance”. Brian Place, a 60-year-old resident of Newcastle, received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2005 following the detection of a pea-sized mass in his left breast, leading to him undergoing a double mastectomy. The operations manager initially postponed consulting his general practitioner because he possessed “no idea” that males could contract the illness. He was released from cancer treatment in 2010; however, in February of the current year, he found that the cancer had recurred in his spine, causing one of his vertebrae to collapse, and had also spread to his pelvis and liver. Mr. Place has been informed that he faces a “50/50 chance of making five years” given that his secondary diagnosis is stage 4 and deemed incurable. Offering counsel to other men, he stated: “Don’t die of ignorance. “This is a genderless disease, check yourself and if you find anything suspicious – get it checked out straight away.” Mr. Place’s surgeon indicated in 2005 that the tumour had most probably been present for a period of five or six years. He remarked, “Men must not be an ostrich and stick their head in the sand.” Annually, approximately 370 men in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer, as reported by Cancer Research UK. Mr. Place expressed his desire to persist in “look at the positive side of things” and contribute to increasing awareness of the illness among men. He currently participates in the Men’s VMU, a virtual support group for men affected by breast cancer. He commented, “Blokes, particularly, every single one that you talk to, even on the Men’s VMU, will tell you that they had no idea that men could get breast cancer.” He added, “Get the message out there, people are less ignorant, and the sooner they catch it, the better quality of life they’re going to have, maybe even a cure.” For updates, follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor, and Instagram. Story ideas can be submitted to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk. This content is copyrighted by BBC 2024. All rights are reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the material on external websites. Information regarding their external linking policy is available.