A Caregiver's Perspective on Male Breast Cancer in India: Stigma, Disclosure, and the Lived Experience.

Abstract

Male breast cancer (MBC), a comparatively rare type of malignancy, is often diagnosed very late with extremely poor prognosis and early deaths of the patients, largely due to cultural stigma and societal taboo surrounding masculinity, and limited healthcare awareness. My experience as a caregiver for a distant relative from a rural village in West Bengal, India, whose stage-IV MBC was detected after a 15-month delay and early demise, exposed the profound impact of cultural expectations and shame on delayed diagnosis, patient outcomes, and heavy family burden. Our journey unveiled more challenges, such as family nondisclosure, social isolation, and extreme emotional distress stemming from the management of a cancer that is culturally perceived as feminine. This perspective emphasizes critical shortcomings in Male Breast Cancer awareness and care, highlighting the urgent need for culturally responsive education, family-centered counseling to alleviate shame and stigma, and policy reforms to enable earlier diagnosis and sustained and compassionate support for patients and caregivers.