I am now happy to be living back in Shrewsbury, after 40 years or so away.
2023 was a bit of an odd one – not least because I found out that men can get breast cancer and that I was one of them (I now know that although breast cancer in men is not as common as in women, it is still something we should be aware of and talk about). There are only about 400 diagnoses a year of men in the U.K. and, because of this and the lack of awareness, often it is not detected early enough; in this respect, I was lucky!
I have always been vaguely healthy (not exactly a top athlete, but the occasional 1/2 marathon and triathlon over the years) and try to have a healthy lifestyle; eating well, exercising, etc. So, I was not overly concerned when at the beginning of 2023 my PSA level was slightly elevated (a high level can be an indicator of prostate cancer). My consultant told me not to worry as it was still relatively low and it would not normally warrant seeing him.
Anyway, after an MRI, a biopsy, and various other tests (including a CT scan), it turned out that I did have prostate cancer and that it was fairly aggressive. My best solution was a radical prostatectomy – not a procedure anyone would have voluntarily! On the plus side, the CT scan confirmed that the prostate cancer hadn’t spread but there was something unusual showing on my right breast.
On the day I was declared fit and healthy following my prostatectomy, further investigations were made into the mass that had shown up on my chest by having a mammogram (quite hard to do!), an ultrasound, and then a biopsy. To put it mildly, it was something of a shock to discover that I had breast cancer; one cancer diagnosis straight after another takes a bit of getting your head around! And, at that time, I didn’t realize that men could get breast cancer, it was just not something that I had thought about.
So, I was lucky, it had been picked up before I had any symptoms and before it could spread too far (too often with men, because of the lack of knowledge and awareness, it is not picked up until much, much later and it has spread). So, in July I had a mastectomy and fortunately (because it was caught early) I didn’t have to have chemotherapy or radiotherapy. I was, however, put on a drug called Tamoxifen, which gave me the most horrendous side effects.
Luckily again, and thanks to my local MacMillan team, I found The Men’s VMU which has been a great place to talk, share, learn, and gain comfort from other men in a similar situation. It helped me to deal with Tamoxifen by discovering that most of the other men taking the drug experience dreadful side effects too. Talking together made us realize that, although it is said to prevent cancer from coming back, unfortunately very little research, if any, has been done as to how it affects men with breast cancer and whether the benefits are the same as for women.
Listening and chatting to the other VMU men, makes you wonder about what little data there is available about breast cancer in men, particularly about the drugs that are prescribed. It is our mission to continue to raise awareness and help with any relevant research.
** Special thanks go to the Men VMU for sharing this story.