Actor Tyler Mane has revealed that he has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Mane, the 59-year-old former pro wrestler who is best known for playing Sabretooth in the 2000 blockbuster X-Men, announced Monday on Instagram that he has a “super rare” form of the disease, putting him in the one percent of men who are diagnosed with male breast cancer in their lifetime.
“I’ll be honest, my first reaction was to keep it secret,” Mane, 59, wrote in the caption on the video shared to his social media accounts. “I mean it’s kind of embarrassing.”
He then went on to credit his wife, Renae Geerlings, for encouraging him to seek treatment, saying: “But then I found out that men are more likely to be diagnosed in advance stages BECAUSE it’s not talked about and not looked for. In fact, my doctors all dismissed it and it was only because my wife pushed me to get the lump removed that I got in early.”
“So let’s start talking about it! 1 in 755 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and if caught early, it’s VERY treatable. Time to answer the Wake Up Call!”
In the video, Mane announced that he was starting chemotherapy. He included a brief clip of himself in the hospital hooked up to an IV, where he was seen raising his middle finger and mouthing the words “f*** cancer.”
Mane began his career as a professional wrestler before becoming an actor. He appeared as the villain Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s slasher Halloween remakes. In 2024, he reprised his role as Sabretooth for Deadpool & Wolverine.
In an update shared Tuesday after his second day of chemotherapy, Mane appeared emotional in the video and thanked people for “all the love and outreach” before asking his followers to share his message.
“I’m gonna kick cancer’s ass,” he said. “Thank you for coming along for the journey. We need to spread the awareness. Cancer sucks but if you catch it quick enough, you can win this battle.”
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Breast cancer is more common in women, affecting approximately one in eight women during their lifetime. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in 100 breast cancer diagnoses in the United States is in men. As with women, if a man has family members who have had breast cancer, then his chances of developing the cancer are higher.
The most common symptom of breast cancer in men is a lump in the breast tissue that can usually be felt close to the nipple.
