Men with Breast Cancer?

Yes, men can get breast cancer. Can they run in the Race for Life? No. I think this is a tricky subject to handle because on one hand, men are affected by cancer just as much as women are, but they are not allowed to enter the Race for Life, on the other hand, a big part of the campaign's success is its appeal to women.

On the Cancer Research website one of the most frequently asked questions is "Why is Race for Life a woman- only event?"and the company answer with

"We regularly review our events to make them the best they can be and three years ago we seriously looked at whether we should let men enter Race for Life. However, our research showed that Race for Life’s success is due to its appeal to women as a women-only event and to allow men to enter could bring in less income for the charity’s life saving work."

This does provoke the question, why didn't they start the event with both men and women? 

When the campaign started in 1994 it was created for women to run, jog or walk. I think this was where their problems started. Men's breast cancer was never considered a problem, but Cancer Research has stated that the Race for Life is for all types of cancer. For this reason I think when they came up with idea for a sponsored race they should have considered the fact that men would want to be able to join in.

I sit on the fence a lot with this issue because I think men and women should be equal and, therefore, both be allowed to take part in the fight against cancer, but when you think of the global scale of inequality it makes this small thing that men are upset over seem rather petty. 

Overall I would argue that it has to continue this way because it brings in so much money and perhaps some women would be deterred to run, but they shouldn't be. They should want to run because of the cause, not because of the "sisterhood" they have created by excluding men.

Sorry this is a short one, but as ever, comment below if you have a different opinion or ask any questions you may or may not have.

Until next time,

Stephanie