why i’m glad james eddleston is sharing his story

This week, the BBC featured the story of James Eddleston, a 43-year-old marketing director from West Yorkshire who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump near his nipple. Like many of us, breast cancer wasn't something James ever considered as a possibility.

In fact, despite previously working for Cancer Research UK and interviewing women with breast cancer, he said he never expected to find himself on the other side of that conversation.

But what struck me most about James's story wasn't just the diagnosis itself, but what he's decided to do afterwards. Rather than keeping the experience private, James has started documenting his journey on TikTok, Instagram and Substack. As he prepares to begin a four-month course of chemotherapy, he's sharing the reality of diagnosis, treatment and everything that comes with it.

That takes serious courage.

One of the challenges with breast cancer in men is that there simply aren't many visible examples. Most men will go their entire lives without seeing another man talk openly about the disease. That lack of visibility can make it harder to recognise symptoms, harder to seek support and harder to feel understood if you are diagnosed.

James's story highlights many of the issues that men with breast cancer continue to face.

He initially ignored the lump, assuming it was nothing serious. When he was diagnosed, the information he was given was largely written for women. And like so many others, he found himself trying to process a diagnosis he never thought could happen to him.

There will be plenty of men who read or watch James's story and see parts of themselves in it. Most importantly, there will be men who discover a lump tomorrow, next week or next year and remember that breast cancer is a possibility.

For that reason alone, I'm incredibly grateful that James has chosen to share his experience publicly.

Everyone at moobs wishes James the very best as he begins treatment, and we'll be following his journey closely.