When it's not only "Girl Talk"

In our work in breast care, it's often very important to set the proper environment for disucssions around breasts without making it seem taboo and scary.

As wedeliverour education programming, we continue to transcend borders ofage, culture, languageand gender in order to be inclusive in our delivery. After all, breasts are important to everyone and there should be no barriers to this dialogue.

Men are fathers, husbands, colleagues and sons so the impact of women's healthwould influence themgreatly, regardless of their geographic location, culture or language. Even if not acknowledged.

Most men in the Caribbeanwould boast of beingbreastfed and nurtured or raisedby severalwomen in their extended-family households - mothers, aunts, grandmothers.

There's a perception that breasts and breast care is strictly a \"girl talk\" that should be voiced by women, to womenand should only be applicable to the females of the world.

However, more and more, the most insightful conversations are coming from the men whom we engage with in our daily work at Ms. Brafit.

On a very rainy afternoon this week, I stopped in a local restaurant and noticedfour men at a table having drinks.I recognized one of them and went over to say hello. He was the former head of Human Resources at both aninternational tech and an internationalfinancialinstitution -respectively.

We have networksand friends in common from our diverse communities and professional groups.

My friend and his colleagues aremenover the age of 60 - husbands, fathers, grandfathers. Beaming with pride as they spoke of their families.

When we greeted each other, he identified me to his colleaguesas \"TheWorld's Most KnowledgeableBreast Lady\" a title that many use to address me andone that I have accepted asmy biggest asset because it is true!

After the introductions and banter, one of the gentlemen became very emotionally charged as he shared his personal journey with breasts in his household and family.

He told usthat his young daughter (a mother of 2 little girls under 9)had recently discovered a lump inher breast and was subsequently diagnosed with breast-cancer and had a mastectomy - all within the last month. And sadly, currently undergoing further treatment due to complications.

He spoke of the sequence of things and how quickly her life and the lives of the entire family (that of his daughter, his wife, himself, her 2 little daughters and her husband's) had changed.

He described himself as an advocate and asked me for my contact information as he was ready to become part of our support and advocacy network. What was insightful was the way he exuded enough passion with which to include his three peers to open the dialogues and be free to speak about the disease.

His and their concerns were about the women in their lives. Their wives, daughters and grand daughters who would also be prone to types of cancers and who may have shunned early detection or thought that it was not applicable to them because of age or family history.

When we meet men who are this passionate about the dialogues surrounding breasts, it is encouragement for our work in breast health and it also endorses the importance of dialogues that transcend age, social standing and gender.

Today we applaud the men who stand strongly behind the women and who amplify their voices forhealthy breasts and early detection. If our conversations can get coloured with any encouraging words it will be to say that whilst we talk about breasts - let it not be stigmatized nor generalized by sexual innuendo. Let it be a conversation that encourages women to get screening, to encourage girls to be self-aware, to empower communities to learn about breast health and to offer educational interventions like ours to create healthy societies and economies.

We appreciate the men who allow breast health to notbe considered as \"girl talk\".

Mark, thank youfor introducing me to your caring friends.