My name is Asa. I am a transgender man, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2023.
I felt a lump in my right breast starting in late October 2023 and decided to tell my doctor at my yearly physical that was coming up in a few weeks. The appointment came, and I nearly forgot to tell the doctor. My phone calendar alert went off just as I was leaving the exam room to remind me to mention the lump. She felt it and said, although it was probably nothing, she would order a mammogram. I agreed. After all, I was only 30. Too young for cancer, right?
I went for my first ever mammogram, which was all sorts of awkward to be sitting in the predominantly female waiting room because I was very male-presenting after nearly a decade on testosterone replacement therapy. My scan was pushed to the end of the day as the clinic didn’t want the women to feel uncomfortable with me back by the exam rooms – same for when I went back for the biopsy. I wasn’t particularly nervous about the mammogram, but I started to worry when a biopsy was recommended. “Biopsy = cancer” to me, and the earlier assurances that it was probably nothing were not so reassuring.
Three days after the biopsy, I got a notification that I had a new test result, but I didn’t have time to check it because I was on my way to work. I got a call from the hospital less than an hour later, and I knew then it was cancer even before answering the phone.
Everything became a whirlwind after that: I met with the multidisciplinary team, which consisted of three oncologists, a geneticist, a nurse navigator, and a social worker. They had prepared an aggressive treatment plan because my cancer was aggressive. I didn’t process any of it emotionally; I couldn’t. I went into logistics mode and got on board with the recommended treatment plan. I was to undergo six rounds of intense chemo over 18 weeks, then I would have a bilateral mastectomy. The findings would determine the next phase of treatment during surgery. If there were still cancer, I might need radiation or additional chemotherapy.
I had a good response to the initial chemo, but there was still some active cancer at surgery. I had to go through another 14 rounds of chemo. Thankful, it was less intense than the first chemo, and I didn’t have as many side effects from the new chemo drug.
Finally, after a year and a half of treatment, I was able to ring the bell signifying that I had beaten cancer! I was blessed to have immense family support throughout my cancer journey. However, I needed the support of guys who knew what I was going through. Enter Man Up To Cancer – (MUTC), a cancer support group specifically for men.
I connected with the local chapter leader as well as another man with breast cancer within a day of joining the group. I was able to start emotionally processing having cancer and going through all the treatments with the support of my MUTC Wolfpack brothers. The Wolfpack is a brotherhood, and I was welcomed into the family regardless of being transgender. Having that space to belong gave me the strength to fight my cancer to the end, and now I can proudly say I am cancer-free, though I will always be part of the Wolfpack to support others like I had been.