By Ron Rapaport
I’m Ron Rapaport, a Ponte Vedra Beach resident who was diagnosed in 2019 with male breast cancer and diagnosed again in 2022 with it.
For many that do not know it, men have breasts too and can get breast cancer, although it is only 1% of all breast cancer cases. Approximately 2,800 men in the U.S. are diagnosed annually, and about 510 men die from the disease.
The problem for men with breast cancer is that in many cases it is diagnosed late, ending in a diagnosis in the latter stages of the disease, making the survival rate in stage 4 at 25% for 5 years as opposed to 93% in stages 0, 1, 2 and 73% in stage 3.
Many men simply do not know the disease exists, and many men view the disease as a “women’s disease,” and thus a stigma exists surrounding the diagnosis. Also, very few physicians bother to take the time to check men’s breast health when examining them.
My passion now is to alert the world that male breast cancer exists through my advocacy work as the Global Lead Advocate for malebreastcancerhappens.org, a nonprofit advocacy group bringing awareness to the disease and offering life saving resources on their website such as self-breast exam cards on how to do monthly breast exam checks. I lead a monthly men’s support group with the disease for them to share their knowledge and experience with each other.
I also host my worldwide podcast “It’s a Wrap With Rap” showcasing people overcoming life’s adversities and have been interviewed on many podcasts advocating for male breast cancer awareness.
For more information, please go to malebreastcancerhappens.org.
