In early 2018, I went for a physical exam and noticed I had a lump in my armpit. My physician said it wasn’t anything, except perhaps an ingrown hair. Well, the bump which was the size of the half walnut never went away, and I went in for an appointment specifically about the bump later that year. The doctor still didn’t think it was anything but I insisted that it get looked at and he scheduled an ultrasound. The ultrasound looked suspicious and same day they performed a mammogram. I was then scheduled to have a biopsy the next week. After the biopsy my doctor called me into his office and told me that the bump was invasive ductal carcinoma; breast cancer. I requested a second opinion and it was the same conclusion.
Immediately, I was thinking how could this be? No family history of any kind of cancer and I was in really great shape as a 48-year-old male. I was a fitness fanatic and ate well most of my life. That said, I was a Stage 2 status with a curable diagnosis. My treatment plan included chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation over a course of one year. After 18 months another metastatic spot appeared on two areas of my spine and I was treated with oral chemotherapy and radiation. Finally, after 8 months, my oncologist determined that the cancer was in remission.
Through it all I changed my diet, and with much prayer and faith, always believing in healing, I’m thankful to God. So, with all that I say, men should check their breasts all the way to their arm pits, and don’t ignore any lumps.