Breast cancer affects men fiercely .. What are the signs of infection?

Abdelghani Ballout-Marrakech

In his modest home in a popular neighborhood in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, surrounded by his family, Mr. Abdelkebir receives his enthusiastic visitor who wants him in addition to the usual, pulls his hands and pattes on his shoulders and his tongue keeps on praying.

He had a special cancer that killed his face, dropped his hair and touched his voice, but a glimmer of hope for a better life still lingers on his exhausted eyes.

"The fate of God is past in us, and my experience with the disease has not been easy," says the 70-year-old, quietly tainted by the hidden grief of the island.

Male breast cancer
Abdul Kabir Jagout is considered one of the rare cases of breast cancer in the world. Eight years ago, the disease was discovered, and is still under medical surveillance, his family's strong support and undergoing various treatments to increase his treatment and survival.

There are no official statistics on the number of people infected with the disease in the Kingdom of Morocco, but the proportion is limited in the region of Casablanca and Rabat between 0.8% and 1% of all cases of breast cancer, while estimated between 0.5% and 1% in the United States, for example.

The professor of cancer diseases and radiation treatment at the University Hospital Mohammed VI in Marrakech, Dr. Abdel Hamid Omrani that the injury of men with this disease has a certain specificity, which makes it, despite its rarity, more dangerous.

Al-Amrani explains to Al-Jazeera Net that the absence of a "big gland" in a man's breast like a woman makes the disease spread more quickly to the skin and chest, but his recovery rate is almost similar among men and women compared to the stage of diagnosis itself.

Signs of the disease
Abdelkebir recalls how he gave up when he first told him, but he was in awe when he walked into the Center for Oncology and Hematology at the University Hospital in Marrakech.

According to psychologist Hisham Jabrawi to Al Jazeera Net that the suffering of patients is increased psychologically whenever it comes to a member of "genital", in relation to local culture, and for breast cancer worsens this pain and affects the psyche of the patient when the "breast man".

Professor Omrani emphasizes that cultural factors are emerging in dealing with the disease, but stresses that "decency" should not be a barrier to any man in order to track his illness whenever one of his signs.

He adds that there are factors that increase the risk of infection, such as the secretion of hormones, in addition to some genetic factors, all of which lead to swelling of the breast in men or the so-called "gynecomastia".

Shock disease
Mr. Kabir makes an involuntary move as he reaches out to his “breasts” whenever he talks about his illness. He says that he discovered the beginning of a small tumor such as a "lentil grain" without pain.

Over time, the pain began to bother him, which made him rush to the doctor to find out his condition, but never occurred to him that it was a disease known to women and more affected by his daughters as well.

confrontation
Cancer in the popular imagination is marked by danger, coupled with death and people call it “malignant disease,” while Abdul Kabir says he was thinking more about the costs of treatment. He was earning a living as a taxi driver and now no longer works.

The head of the Association of Psychologists at the University Hospital Mohammed VI in Marrakech Hisham Jabrawi that his field experience confirms that the face of such a serious disease varies depending on the patient's social situation.

He explained that those living in need think more about the physical means of treatment, and those who have health coverage or financial expenses, they face the disease in a state of severe denial and acceptance of the "fate," lead to depression.

Psychological support
Abdul Kabir says he was asking himself all the time about his "family" status, which could be shaken, the "man" who had always done everything and provided the necessities, at a time when his daughter Fatima confirms that his family deal with him without feeling anything Bother him.

Jabrawi adds that there are those who accept the disease and deal with it as a fait accompli, and patients who ignore it and try to live as if nothing happened, but the complications of this may be severe and may end in serious psychological conditions.

He stresses that underestimating the disease and not allowing the patient to complain and minimize "crying" increases the pain, stressing that the patient in all cases need to keep up with the psychological relief, but also needs the necessary family support.

Hormone therapy
Like any cancer, the doctor chooses the right treatment in every case of male breast cancer, says Dr. Abdelhamid El Amrani.

He adds that there are surgical treatment, chemotherapy and hormone therapy, which some believe is not suitable for breast cancer in men.

In addition, we find “targeted therapy” with new drugs that work at the level of special receptors to monitor cancer cells. Amrani notes that Morocco has made strides in this area at a time when few drugs were available before.

Every time Abdul Kabir talks about his illness, he sometimes refers with his hand and at other times to his wife, Ito, at a beautiful moment of fulfillment, while his kind words make her eyes full of tears, and reminds his eldest son of good words and thanks him for the financial expenses of the family.