INDIANAPOLIS — Men get breast cancer, too.
For women the incidence rate is 1 in 8 women. For men, it's 1 in 100.
Since it is more prevalent in women, the research to find a cure and tailor treatments is primarily focused on women.
But this Saturday, researchers at the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank (KTB) at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center in Indianapolis are opening up the common tissue bank to collect healthy tissue from men for the first time.
"It's only about 1% of all breast cancers are diagnosed in men, but men appear to do a little bit worse. And oftentimes, they're diagnosed in later stages, because they just don't expect it. But indeed, they do get breast cancer and we're really interested in trying to help figure out why," said Dr. Michele Cote, director of the KTB at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Researchers recently invited 10 men to donate as part of a small pilot, and Eric Merriweather signed up right away.
"It's very quick and it's just basic, like three little sucking sounds. And then, that's it. And then they apply ice and you keep ice on and lidocaine keeps them, and that's it. It was really quick, really painless. I would not tell you anything different. It was painless, and I'm glad I did it," Merriweather said.
Now researchers at the IU Health Simon Cancer Center have Merriweather's breast tissue for research here or to send around the world to advance the study of breast cancer in men.
The KTB at IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center opened in 2007 and, to date, 5,000 women have donated. Their healthy breast tissue samples are stored in a variety of ways, and have been used in 206 research projects globally. Many women donated as part of "Super Cure," a legacy project for Indianapolis hosting the 2012 Super Bowl.
In addition to expanding gender, the tissue bank leaders are pushing to grow the percentage of minority donors, which is currently 25%.
"We're also really interested in making sure that we have representation from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in research. So African Americans, Asian populations, Hispanic populations, we've always really focused on making sure that these individuals are invited to participate and understand the process," Cote said.
The first public opportunity for all men 18 and older to give is this Saturday, June 10 from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at the IU Health Simon Cancer Center.
Pre-registration is required at 1-866-763-0047 or by clicking here.
"Cancer affects everybody differently, and it will take a great cross-section of all of us to throw in and play our part," Merriweather said.