Discrimination against Male Breast Cancer

Discrimination against Male Breast Cancer Male breast cancer is a more rare diagnosis that female breast cancer. It is, in fact, estimated that cases of male breast cancer are 100 fold less compared to female breast cancer.

Only about 2000 fresh cases of breast cancer in male patients are recorded in a year in the U.S. This background has made attention be overly paid to female breast cancer, and the plight of male sufferers is largely ignored. It was, therefore, no wonder that Raymond Johnson, a black male in South Carolina, could not get treatment for breast cancer through the Medicaid program.

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Medical covers, even those instituted and funded by the government such as Medicaid, have not taken male breast cancer with the seriousness that it deserves, thus the failure to include it among the conditions covered by the program. It is pertinent to state that the effects of breast cancer in males are the same as in females, if not more severe due to the psychological trauma thereof.

The general believe that breast cancer is confined to females only makes it harder for male patients to believe once they are diagnosed with breast cancer (Dailey, Kasl & Jones, 2008). A classic example is Johnson, who was only 26 years old at the time of diagnosis.

Johnson could not have imagined himself, as a young male, having breast cancer. What was more appalling is the discrimination he faced by being denied treatment for failure to qualify for Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention Treatment Act since he was a man. This is just one case among several other men, especially in South Carolina, who have faced such discrimination in the past. Failure to offer treatment for such men will only lead to increased deaths from male breast cancer. It is worrying because the men who have faced such discrimination, such as Johnson's, are people who cannot afford insurance cover owing to their meager finances. It is, therefore, imperative that more attention is given to screening and prompt and nondiscriminatory treatment of male breast cancer to prevent the devastating effects of breast cancer among men (Dailey, Kasl & Jones, 2008).

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References Chan, A. (2011, August 23). Raymond Johnson to receive breast cancer treatment coverage, after all. Huffington Post. Retrieved Sep 8, 2012 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/raymond-johnson-breast-cancercoverage_n_933999.html Dailey, A. B., Kasl, S. V., & Jones, B. A. (2008). Does gender discrimination impact regular mammography screening? Findings from the race differences in screening mammography study. Journal of Women's Health (15409996), 17(2), 195-206. doi:10.1089/jwh.2006.0257