Male breast cancer patients denied Medicaid coverage

Male breast cancer patients denied Medicaid coverage
Published on August 9, 2011
By Dr Ananya Mandal, MD

Many men with breast cancer are being denied Medicaid coverage for breast cancer treatment because of their gender.

The American Cancer society's pages on breast cancer in men lay out the facts. About 2,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, which makes it rare: about 100 times more women get the disease. It is known that men, like women, are more likely to develop cancer if they have certain mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Family history and age contribute to a man's likelihood of developing the disease as well. Heavy drinking and exposure to radiation are believed to be risk factors, as is obesity. A recent breast cancer cluster among men who had been exposed to contaminated drinking water at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune had patients wondering if there was also a link between chemical exposure and the disease.
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Male breast cancer patients denied Medicaid coverage