‘X-Men’ star Tyler Mane says wife ‘saved my life’ after seemingly harmless lump led to breast cancer diagnosis

Tyler Mane, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, believes his wife may have saved his life.

The actor is teaming up with his wife, Renae, for a candid new podcast, "Mane AF," tackling the realities of "midlife, marriage and mayhem." The couple will also open up about one of their most personal challenges yet: navigating his diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC).

Mane made his feature-film debut as Sabretooth in 2000's "X-Men" and later reprised the role as Wolverine's nemesis in 2024's "Deadpool & Wolverine." He also starred as Michael Myers in 2007's "Halloween" and 2009's "Halloween II," and appeared as Ajax in 2004's "Troy."

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"She just kept insisting," the former wrestler told Fox News Digital about seeing a doctor. "I kept talking about it, 'I have this lump here still, and it's hard.' And she was very insistent because women are trained from a certain age that if they feel something in their breast area, go get it checked out."

"I have to thank her," he said. "She saved my life by saying, 'Get in there and get tested.'"

When the 59-year-old first noticed a lump in his breast area, he assumed it was a lipoma — a soft, fatty growth he'd had removed before. But this lump felt different. Mane initially brushed it off, but Renae kept urging him, "Go in and get checked." Eventually, he listened.

WATCH: TYLER MANE SAYS WIFE ‘SAVED MY LIFE’ AFTER CANCER DIAGNOSIS

"To be honest, even my doctor said, 'Oh, it's probably nothing. It's probably just a lipoma,'" Mane recalled. "And then, when I went in for the [surgery], he said, 'You probably want to get that removed, but it's probably nothing.' It's just dismissed so much that you have to be an advocate for your own body. And I'm just so thankful that she was an advocate for my body. Otherwise, it could have been a whole different story."

Mane said a 28-millimeter tumor was removed.

"It was removed, I think, on a Thursday," Mane said. "I went on a trip and thought nothing of it. I came back, got up and started working at 6am, and then I got the news: invasive ductal carcinoma. I went and woke my wife up. She's like, 'This is not good.' She was half-asleep but woke up very quickly. And that's when our journey began."

Because breast cancer is predominantly associated with women, many men are unaware that they are also at risk. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2026, about 2,670 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and about 530 will die from the disease.

According to the American Cancer Society, the average lifetime risk of breast cancer for men is about 1 in 755.

The most common symptom of male breast cancer is a firm, usually painless lump under or near the nipple, according to experts. Other signs can include skin dimpling, nipple retraction and nipple discharge. Mane said the lump was the only symptom he experienced before his diagnosis.

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Male breast cancer is rare, accounting for fewer than 1% of breast cancers in the U.S. Screening mammograms are not usually recommended for men, even those at increased risk, according to the National Cancer Institute.

"This is a cancer that anyone can get," Mane said. "If you feel something different in your chest than the norm, you have to go get it checked out and tested. You have to insist on getting tested and checked. You have to be the best advocate for yourself."

"For sure, I wanted to keep my diagnosis private at the beginning because I felt a bit ashamed," Mane admitted. "I was like, 'How can I have breast cancer?' But then I quickly turned to, 'No, I got to talk about this because this is a very serious issue that men don't usually deal with.'"

While male breast cancer can occur at any age, the risk increases with age, according to the American Cancer Society. Treatment usually starts with surgery, while other common treatments include chemotherapy, hormone therapy and radiation therapy, according to Mayo Clinic. Treatment depends on factors including the cancer's stage and the patient's overall health.

"I was a Stage 1, so we got it early," Mane said. "Now we're into the chemotherapy ... to make sure that it's completely out of my system ... and then after the chemotherapy, I have some radiation to make sure we hit that area specifically."

For Mane, some days are easier than others.

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"Chemotherapy is hard on your system," he said. "Unless you've gone through it, you can't even imagine what it does to your body, and it's a repetitive cycle. It's not like you get an injury, and you rehabilitate it, or like when I had my hips replaced, and it's one and done. With chemotherapy, it's ongoing. You have your chemo treatment, where they put all of the chemicals into you."

"You feel like c--- for about the first week, and then you have a couple of weeks where you're like, 'I'm just getting back to normal now,'" he continued. "And then you have to go in, sit in that chair again and have that pumped into your body again to kill off the cancer cells. It's about the hardest thing to psych yourself up for."

"Right now, I want to take a nap, but I've got the metal mouth. And that's one thing: every round I've had something different thrown at me. I couldn't lift my shoulder over my head. One time I broke out in hives. But it's just your body trying to kick it out and get ready for the next round."

Known for playing some of Hollywood's most intimidating characters, Mane said he's bringing that same fighting spirit to his cancer treatment, with Renae by his side every step of the way.

"I knew I had it in me," he said with a smile. "You have to have a positive attitude, and I've stayed positive no matter what. You have to stay positive. As soon as you let yourself get down, then it's a downhill slide from there. And I need to stick around for my wife and my family. It's time to step up and do what I have to do."

As Mane continues to talk publicly about his diagnosis, he hopes to use the podcast to raise awareness about breast cancer in men, including by bringing his oncologist on as a guest. But he wants other men to take another lesson from his experience to heart: listen to your wife. She just might save your life.

"All you guys out there, listen to your wives when they tell you to get checked," he said.

Fox News Digital’s Khloe Quill contributed to this report.