Sally Dynevor supporting Jacob Roberts amid Coronation Street breast cancer storyline for Kit

Sally has helped Jacob with his performance (Picture: ITV) With Jacob Roberts’ character Kit Green about to receive the life changing news that he has stage three breast cancer in Coronation Street, a fellow cast member has stepped in to help ready him for the enormous plot. It was announced last week that the ITV soap was to explore the rare-but-deadly topic of breast cancer in males, teaming up with both Macmillan Cancer Support and Breast Cancer Now to ensure the story is told as accurately as possible. Another source of support has come from Corrie legend Sally Dynevor, who’s battled and defeated breast cancer on and off screen. ‘I’ve spoke to Sally Dynevor about it,’ Jacob said when asked about his research into breast cancer. ‘Obviously she’s had this and she put me on to Prevent Breast Cancer as well. I went on a group chat with a load of them and that I found that really helpful, because it was just blokes talking.’ Kit is to be hit with a terrifying diagnosis (Picture: Danielle Baguley/ITV) Listening to other men talk about their experience with the disease proved integral for Jacob. ‘I think the first research chat that we had was was good, but it was six women talking about it, and I’m not getting an insight of how a man should feel at that certain point. ‘As soon as I spoke to a man about it and as soon as we got on these group chats, that’s when I thought, ‘okay, now I can get a sense of what they feel’. But I suppose it’s still a stigma around it now. ‘As soon as I heard these stories, I said to the research team, we need to follow up with this stuff. It must be quite daunting to go into a room when it’s just full of women. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. On-screen, Kit will keep his investigation into his health a secret. When pressed as to why, Jacob put it down to ‘blokey’ behaviour. Jacob talked about the lack of information for males suffering with breast cancer (Picture: Danielle Baguley/ITV) Breast cancer in males Common symptoms can include A painless lump or swelling under the nipple or areola. An inverted or retracted nipple that turns inward. Nipple discharge or bleeding. Skin dimpling, puckering, or scaling on the chest. Sores (ulcers) on the chest or nipple area. Risk factors include Older age, most frequently diagnosed in men in their 60s. Inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations. High oestrogen levels linked to obesity or liver disease. Genetic conditions such as Klinefelter syndrome. Statistics Around 400 to 420 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every year. For comparison, roughly 59,000 women are diagnosed annually. Approximately 1 in 870 men in the UK will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. There are around 85 deaths from male breast cancer each year in the UK. Since the early 1970s, male breast cancer mortality rates have decreased by about 47%. While breast cancer diagnoses in UK women have risen by roughly a quarter since the early 1990s, incidence rates in men have remained stable. ‘I think blokes generally keep their health concerns to themselves. I know I could ask my dad if he’s gone to for a check-up and he won’t tell me anything. ‘I think it is a ‘blokey’ thing to do. ‘But I think I do feel it is a blokey thing to go, ‘I won’t worry every everyone’, but also with it being a BRCA gene, it affects the full family.’ While his mum Bernie Winter-Alahan (Jane Hazlegrove) and sister Gemma Winter-Brown (Dolly-Rose Campbell) openly seek answers after the revelation that the gene runs in the family, Kit is much more secretive. ‘He really doesn’t want to worry anyone until he gets concrete news that he’s got it, and he can gradually tell people.’ Kit hides his worries from his family (Picture: Danielle Baguley/ITV) A huge part of the story will be exploring how Kit handles the diagnosis as a man. ‘When you when you start to realize you’re going into the clinic – the breast cancer clinic – and it’s full of women, and even on the leaflets, it’s all women. ‘I think that’s the realization of ‘this doesn’t seem normal’. ‘Why? Why is this happening to me?’ ‘When he goes into the breast cancer clinics, he starts to question how, ‘why is this? Why is this not a thing? And why is there not much information for men?’. Deals of the Day The viral LED face mask with over 350 lights that's currently discounted by £100 A friend said I looked 'snatched' – I credit this new Charlotte Tilbury powder Shop MySweetSmile's biggest Bank Holiday offers before they end Back-to-school shopping just got a lot cheaper thanks to Primark The back-to-school essential parents forget every year – and it could cost them Arrow MORE: Kit devastated after sleeping with someone else in Coronation Street – and it’s not Jodie Arrow MORE: Coronation Street cancer story for Kit is really polarising everyone Arrow MORE: Bethany stands up to Jodie as she commits shocking betrayal in Coronation Street The Soaps Newsletter – Weekly Sign up for exclusive spoilers and interviews, handpicked by our Soaps Editor.