Tyler Mane is the former heel pro wrestler who battled André the Giant in Japan, and traded blows with icons like Sting and the British Bulldog in WCW. And, having transitioned to the big screen, the man once known as “Big Sky” became a supervillain all over again, using his towering physicality to succeed in the role of Sabretooth in X-Men and Deadpool & Wolverine.”At 6’8″ he also became the tallest person to play the evil Michael Myers in Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009), but after being diagnosed with breast cancer, and bravely sharing his treatment journey on social media, the star has become a superhero to many, using his platform to raise awareness of the importance of getting checked out, and explaining why it is essential to follow your doctor’s advice for treatment.
How Did Tyler Mane Discover His Male Breast Cancer Lump?
With an impressive Hollywood résumé building nicely, Mane set about growing his own production company, Mane Entertainment, a banner that launched the popular “The Last Spartan” graphic novels and has made a point of hiring taller people on filming projects. “To give the taller actors a little bit of playtime,” he explains, noting that those who are ‘vertically gifted’ can often find it difficult to get cast among some of the industry’s tinier stars. Things were going great professionally, but life would soon throw a huge curveball at his health.
A summer rolled into the winter of 2025, Mane had ramped up his fitness efforts after feeling that he’d let his body weight creep up. He stopped drinking alcohol and through exercise and a renewed commitment to nutrition, dropped a significant amount of fat. “But with losing that weight, I felt a lump in the side of my chest,” says Mane. “And I was like, ‘oh, that’s just… I probably tweaked something. It’s nothing.’ But my wife, Renae, said, ‘You need to get that checked.’”
Having recently lost his brother to a heart attack, Mane was all too aware of the fragility of life and so he followed his wife’s persistent advice to seek medical attention. Mane’s lump was removed for testing, and it was revealed that the star was suffering from invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), a condition that accounts for around 80% of all breast cancer cases. “I was like, how can that be?” reflects Mane. “How could this be happening to me?”
An early diagnosis was lifesaving for Mane however, because it was soon revealed that he had a fast-moving Oncotype. “So, why I’m doing this, and why I’m advocating for all of this is: men, go get yourself checked!”
Men Must Follow the Female Lead and Seek a Medical Expert
Despite the fact that women generally live longer than men, guys are up to 50% less likely to seek medical attention than the fairer sex. There are a number of reasons for this, like playing up to the stereotypes around masculinity, feeling that they are too busy, or simply relying on the notion that issues will clear up by themselves. “Guys are like, ‘It’ll go away’, ‘I gotta suck it up’, ‘I’ve got to support the family’, ‘I gotta do this, gotta do that,’” explains Mane. “No, you’ve got to be your best and biggest advocate for yourself.”
When Mane first consulted with a doctor, he insisted on having the lump properly tested, despite the fact that the initial opinion was that it was probably just a non-cancerous lipoma. “If the doctors say, ‘Oh, it’s probably nothing, say: ‘No, I want the tests,’” he advises. “I was just at a convention with my wife this weekend, promoting the ‘Main AF’ podcast, and a gentleman came up to me, he said, ‘My father had male breast cancer, and he let it go so long’… He went in, and he was at stage 4, so he ended up passing away from it. So please, if you know something is off, you gotta go check.”
Inside Tyler Mane’s Treatment: Chemotherapy, Radiation, and Recovery
“I did four sessions,” explains the actor, who lost his beard after just one chemo session. “And they progressively got a little worse,” he explains. “The very first session I did, I didn’t approach it right, I didn’t hydrate enough, so I cramped up. The second session that I had, I broke out in hives all over for some reason. This last session, I couldn’t lift my arm above my chest. Now I’m at the stage where it’s done, I’m moving forward, we’re good.”
Mane will now require around four weeks of Monday to Friday radiation therapy, lasting just ten minutes per day. “That is to make sure there is no lingering cancer cells,” says the star. To stay energized during this ordeal, the former grappler continued to challenge himself physically, but he’s looking forward to returning to the heavy weights. “I think I lost about eight to ten pounds,” he says of the chemo and treatment process. “So, I’m looking forward to getting back in the gym.”
The pro-wrestler-turned-actor is also looking forward to sharing his message via his aforementioned podcast, “Main AF with Tyler & Ranae,” where he’ll be talking to medical professionals, celebrity friends, and special guests about the issue of breast cancer, and other challenges that face fellow mid-lifers. “It’s gonna be open for everybody,” he enthuses, noting that he feels compelled to put out some factual information around serious issues like cancer, because the star came across so much misinformation when doing this own research online. “See your doctor, because that’s where the science is. That’s where the training is,” explains Mane. “If chemotherapy is recommended, or radiology is recommended, do what you have to do to keep healthy.” The star notes that there’s nothing wrong with looking into holeistic therapies, but they should be part of the mix, rather than replacing a doctor’s care.
“There’s a 40% chance that anyone will get some form of cancer in their lifetime,” says Mane. “So those are pretty high odds, that you’re going to be dealing with some cancer in your lifetime. And there’s a 100% chance that we know someone that has gone through it.”
As for Tyler Mane, he tells M&F that he’s more than ready for the comeback, joking; “My wife calls this ‘the road back to beard!’”
The “Mane AF with Tyler & Renae” podcast drops from August 27, 2026, on all major platforms. To follow Tyler Mane on Instagram, click here.
