I had no idea men could get breast cancer

Can you tell us about your diagnosis?

In 2022, I noticed a small lump near my left nipple. It was painful whenever I rubbed against anything, so after a while, I went to my GP.

I got a referral to the breast clinic and had some tests. They told me it was just a cyst and sent me home. But it was still painful, and over time it got slightly bigger.

I went back to the doctor, and this time they did a biopsy. That’s when I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

How did you react to the diagnosis? 

It was a total shock. I had no idea men could get breast cancer. I’d seen adverts about breast cancer in women and heard of organisations focused on that, but it never had anything to do with men.

I don’t tend to think of things negatively, I just thought, ‘What do we do now?’. I think some people thought I was being a bit blasé, but that’s just me. I took the news on the chin. But my wife was very upset.

What was it like telling your friends and family?

My wife Val was with me the whole time at the doctors, so I didn’t have to tell her. She’s been a diamond the whole way through, and very attentive. 

I wanted to get genetic testing to see if I was carrying any genes that might affect my female relatives. Fortunately, the result was negative. So, when I told my sister and daughter I had breast cancer, I also told them that there were no genes that could lead to them getting it. So that was a result in itself.

How was your treatment?

I had more tests and they found that I had cancer on both sides of my chest, so I needed to have both breasts removed. 

I didn’t really know anything about the operation, and I feel like the hospital didn’t treat me like an individual. I went into it knowing nothing about male breast cancer and felt the same after the operation. I didn’t have any contact with anyone in the hospital before or after the surgery.

Afterwards, I returned to my local breast clinic. The treatment and attention I’ve received there has been great. I threw so many questions at them, and they always gave me replies.

After surgery I had 6 sessions of radiotherapy and then tamoxifen. But I had bad side effects. I was sweating a lot in the night and feeling more irritable. 

My team told me that what we know about tamoxifen comes from studies done on women. There aren’t enough men to study. Men are different to women, and I think we need to understand how treatment affects them differently.

What have you been up to since finishing treatment?

I’m retired now, but I’ve tried to carry on as I always have done. I love going on holidays and getting out in the sun whenever I can.

I’m also involved with the Men’s Virtual Meet Up (VMU). My daughter found out about it and encouraged me to get in touch. I wasn’t sure about joining, but I’m glad I did.

I’ve met other men with breast cancer, and we talk about loads of things. They’ve helped me to come forward and ask questions, and I’ve had lots of help from them. It’s another way to spread information about male breast cancer.

What do you think should be done to raise awareness of breast cancer in men?

It should be put out in the open as much as possible. Everyone I speak to knows I’ve had breast cancer. Most of my friends were in complete shock when I told them, they didn’t even know men could get breast cancer. So, I go out of my way to tell people about it and raise awareness.

Medical professionals should know more about breast cancer in men. I met someone in the treatment team at the hospital who said she’d only seen one other man with breast cancer in her whole career. When men have symptoms, they should be treated as though it could be cancer, not just a cyst. I should have had a biopsy much earlier.

What advice would you give to a man who’s just been diagnosed with breast cancer?

Open up, don’t withdraw. Don’t be scared to talk about it and let people know.