My Story

My beloved dog was staring at me with a serious look… I believe he was trying to warn me that something was wrong!

At the age of 67, my life changed one morning in the shower—I felt a lump behind my left nipple.  I called my wife in to take a look and she felt it too. Only a few days passed before she noticed that my nipple had begun to invert.

The next day, my wife and I visited my friend and primary care physician about the newly discovered lump.  His initial reaction was that I may have gynecomastia, possibly caused by a medication that I was taking for an enlarged prostate. His lab performed a blood test and I was immediately sent for a chest x-ray.  We all agreed that I needed to see a surgeon as soon as possible.

After contacting my surgeon, he ruled out gynecomastia because the lump/mass was hard and not rubbery. I was scheduled for both a mammogram and ultrasound on my left breast at a local imaging center, with plans to see him at the end of the week.

My primary care physician called to say that he had seen the imaging results and was very concerned. At that point, we were all on full alert. The surgeon immediately scheduled me to have a biopsy at a local hospital, where a radiologist performed 3 core biopsies under my breast at the site of the lump. Within days, we met again with my surgeon to hear the biopsy results…He told my wife and I that I did, in fact, have BREAST CANCER and we needed to discuss options and quickly make some decisions.

My first question was, “How did I get breast cancer?” We discussed that the odds of a male having this disease were 1 in 1,000 and for women 1 in 8, along with the possibility of hereditary traits or genetic mutations.  If my cancer was caused by a genetic mutation, my sons and especially daughters would be at a higher risk of having breast cancer in their futures.  We discussed the BRACA gene test for either a positive or negative report of a gene mutation.  If the BRACA test came back positive, my sons and daughters would be at risk.  The chances of my daughters having breast cancer in their lifetimes would go up to between 40-70%.

He fully explained the surgery procedures that included checking lymph nodes for possible spreading of the cancer and recovery odds.  Although I had several options, I wanted my surgeon—who is also a friend—to perform the mastectomy to remove the lump.  And, I also wanted the results of the surgery before seeing an oncologist.

Moving quickly, we scheduled the surgery for the following week.  The day before surgery, I had a dye injection (tracer) that would locate the sentinel lymph node.  The operation would take over an hour—the surgeon would first harvest the sentinel lymph node, send it to pathology, and get a report back prior to the end of the surgery. If cancer was detected in the lymph nodes, he could remove them while I was still in surgery.

I had stage 2a ductal carcinoma, a total mastectomy of my left breast –  8 ½ cut, 39 staples and 2 drain tubes.  The surgeon met with my wife and other family members and told them that we all needed to get down on our knees and thank God that the surgery went well.  There were no signs of cancerous cells in my lymph nodes. Our prayers were working.

A few days later, my wife and I met with a local oncologist, who said that the surgeon had sent the tumor off for further analysis.  We discussed the BRACA test and the concern for my daughters.  We agreed to the test, which was sent off that same day. We had to wait for test results to come back, on both the tumor and BRACA.  My main concern during that anxious time was the BRACA report and my daughter’s safety.  The tumor report confirmed my surgeons opinion, stage 2 ductal carcinoma, and the BRACA test came back NEGATIVE!  We were elated and very relieved.

Tumor and treatment reporting charts had me in the range of an 84% chance of this cancer not returning within 10 years with me taking the drug Tamoxifen. We discussed options of taking Tamoxifen or and having some clean up chemotherapy treatments. I complimented the oncologist on his great reputation and skills, but I wanted to get a “second opinion” and he said, “No problem.”  The next day, we met with another oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.  He concurred with everything that we had heard from both the surgeon and oncologist. We all agreed that taking the drug Tamoxifen and foregoing chemo would be the best treatment method for me. He ordered a mammogram on my other (right) breast, and to our relief, that test came back negative.

Through this process, my TEAM consisted of prayer, my physician, surgeon, oncologist, family members and close friends. My life depended on this team.

I have been cancer free since my surgery and continue to see my doctor, surgeon and oncologist on a regular basis.

Other than experiencing some fatigue from side effects of the Tamoxifen, I’m doing well.   This disease also challenges your masculinity. I haven’t yet talked to another male who has had this cancer nor found any male support groups—no one that can truly relate to my experience. I still want to know what caused this cancer—I don’t buy into the statistic of 1 in 1,000.

Because men are not routinely screened for breast cancer, we have formed the non-profit, WE GET IT TOO, INC to spread the word of male breast cancer’s warning signs and the importance of EARLY DETECTION.  Our cause is to make men and their loved ones aware of this disease since EARLY DETECTION IS CRUCIAL.

Anyone who has any of the warning signs should see their doctor immediately, as Early Detection improves your odds of survival.