Tyler Mane, the Canadian actor and former professional wrestler who played Sabretooth in the 2000 blockbuster “X-Men,” announced on Facebook that he has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. The 59-year-old said he was sharing the news to raise awareness about a condition he described as rarely talked about.
“Yep. I have breast cancer. And yep, it’s super rare. Only 1% of breast cancers are men,” Mane wrote in the post.
Mane said his first instinct was to keep the diagnosis private. “I’ll be honest, my first reaction was to keep it secret. I mean it’s kind of embarrassing,” he wrote. He said he changed his mind after learning that men are more likely to be diagnosed at advanced stages because the disease is not discussed or screened for. Mane added that his doctors initially dismissed the lump, and that it was only because his wife pushed him to have it removed that he caught it early.
“1 in 755 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and if caught early, it’s VERY treatable,” Mane wrote. “Time to answer the Wake Up Call! Like, Save, Share, Comment let’s spread the word!”
The American Cancer Society estimates that 2,670 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the United States this year, and 530 will die from the disease. The society said male breast cancer can occur at any age, though the average age at diagnosis is between 60 and 70. Individual risk factors include excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, and liver disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists symptoms of possible breast cancer in men, including a lump or swelling in the breast, redness or flaky skin, irritation or dimpling of the breast skin, nipple discharge, and pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area. The CDC said the two main forms of the disease in men are invasive ductal carcinoma, in which cancer cells begin in the ducts and can spread to other parts of the body, and ductal carcinoma in situ, in which cancer cells are confined to the lining of the ducts. Treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy.
Mane, who also competed on the World Championship Wrestling circuit, said in a Facebook video that he wanted to “kick this thing in the ass.” He urged followers to share his post widely. “Send this to 10 of your friends and have them follow me, because people need to hear this,” he said. “Fuck cancer.”