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Unlike other kids, since the age of ten, Mr. Jonathan Dawson wanted to be a surgeon. Later on in life he decided to specialise in breast surgery as well as consultancy and is leading the breast unit at the Northampton General Hospital.
But, when asked why exactly breast surgery, he said the decision came naturally.
He said that, if we knew 100% how and why people got cancer, the cure would probably be found much sooner. Breast cancer is much more common in the West than it is in the East, mentioned the surgeon. However, there are other individual factors as to why someone gets breast cancer, from their diet, the environment to genetics and similar.
In men, breast cancer tends to develop due to higher estrogen levels. That can often happen due to liver failure, obesity, and other factors which can act on breast tissue in men and therefore promote the development of breast cancer.
According to the Breast Cancer Organisation, the highest risk for male breast cancer is actually growing older. The average age of men diagnosed with breast cancer is about 68. There are a particular set of genes called oncogenes* which promote the changes which lead to development of breast cancer. BRCA genes,* however, are directly related to development of the disease. Some families transmit it and can be found mostly in men, says the surgeon.
Jonathan Dawson also stressed the importance of self-checking in women and in men and highlighted the fact that hope is out there for people who do get diagnosed.
„We need to embrace the fact that breast cancer is treatable.“
But, why is the mortality rate percentage in men actually higher (22.86 % in men comparing with 20.7% in women, based on the numbers from Breast Cancer Now) than in women with breast cancer? Find out more in our documentary.
GLOSSARY:
Oncogene: a gene which in certain circumstances can transform a cell into a tumour cell.
BRCA genes: are abnormal BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes which can be inherited in the family. BRCA2 gene mutation is more common in men with breast cancer and relates to first-degree relatives (siblings, parents and children) of a man diagnosed with the disease.