I was a 55-year-old white male, married for 35 years, with two children and two grandchildren. One day in September 2019, I was in the shower washing and felt something on my left breast right below my areola. When I got out, I asked my wife to feel it and give me her opinion. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I also noticed a slight downturn or pull in of my nipple. After she felt it, she said I had a lump and needed to go to my doctor.
I called my wife’s breast doctor, Dr. Dixie Melillo who happens to be one of the co-founders of The Rose in Houston, TX. My wife and her mother are both patients of Dr. Melillo, and with me taking them, she was familiar with me and my sunny disposition. She made an appointment for me at her office, and she did a thorough exam of my breasts and lymph nodes. She said I needed a mammogram and ultrasound and got me into the Rose on October 3rd. Now, I tell you, an ultrasound is no big deal, but I was a little nervous about a mammogram. The tech came out the day of the tests and called Mrs. Morris, and I stood up, and we both giggled a bit. Had my tests, and Dr. Melillo looked at the ultrasound on site and said I needed a biopsy, which was scheduled for October 8th. I waited the longest three days ever, and on Friday, October 11th, her receptionist called me and asked us to come that day at 2 pm. When the doctor’s office calls and asks you to come in right away, I’m not lying; I was scared and worried, but I told my wife it was no big deal.
My wife and I went to meet with Dr. Melillo, and she informed me I had invasive ductal carcinoma grade 2 (stage 2) breast cancer. Told us that the employees at the Rose were going to take care of us and set us up with a surgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center. They explained every option and what to expect, along with helpful pamphlets with all sorts of resources. Three hours later, MDA was calling me to schedule an appointment the following week with oncology. We met on the 18th of October, when I had another thorough exam, and more tests were ordered, including genetics, mammogram, ultrasound, X-ray, and blood tests. On the 23rd of October, during my ultrasound, they noticed 3 lymph nodes that were not right and immediately conducted a needle biopsy of them. The following day, the oncologist called me to inform me that all 3 were normal, and so far, it looks as if the cancer is still just in the breast tissue.
On October 30th, I had a genetic consultation, and we scheduled genetic testing for any gene mutations. On another note, my father’s 2 sisters had breast cancer, and 2 of his brothers had prostate and colon cancer. My mom’s sister had breast cancer as well, so if I have a mutation, then all my siblings and kids and grandchildren may be getting tested for gene mutations. Test results came back negative for any mutations. How did I get Breast Cancer?
On the 31st of October, we had a visit with the surgeon. The surgeon, my wife, and I talked at length about all the options and outcomes of surgery. I had originally planned on removing both breasts before the meeting but felt more confident with just having a single mastectomy. Scheduled on November 20th at MDA, and who knows what is to follow. The surgery went well, and I stayed one night for observation in the Hospital. The doctor came in and told me he removed my breast and two lymph nodes on the left side, and all was sent to labs for testing, even for an ONCO test of the tumor. We went home, and I had a drain tube on my left side, and my wife took excellent care of me while I healed. We returned to the surgeon about a week later, and he said that the cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes or the surrounding tissues of my breast, which is great news, but I still needed to speak with the oncologist.
The results of the ONCO test showed a pretty good chance of recurrence and that chemotherapy would be the best course of treatment. She said I would need the highest dose of chemo they give, but it would bring down the recurrence to the 12% range. Now I’m an odds player, and that seemed like good odds to me.
On January 8, 2020, surgery was scheduled to install my port for chemotherapy, and on January 9th, I had my first infusion of chemo, which was AC, or more commonly known as the Red Devil for its red color and high strength. At this point, I was scared, but my strength came from my wife and family, who were by my side the entire process and kept my medications on time and everything I needed to help me stay comfortable. As it goes, I had 4 rounds of Red Devil, one every three weeks, and after round two, the hair was just about gone. On April 13, 2020, I started the second round of chemo, which had 12 doses, one dose a week for 12 weeks. This was worse on my body than the Red Devil, but I finished on June 22, 2020, had the port removed, and started my five years of hormone therapy medication. Now keep in mind that right after I started chemo, the coronavirus outbreak had started, and everywhere was stopping patients from having support in the room with them during treatments. This made it more difficult for my wife, but with FaceTime we made it through, and she was able to come up when I rang the bell after my last treatment.
During the LyondellBasell HRO United Way Campaign in October 2019, I got up and shared my story about my newly diagnosed male breast cancer. It’s hard to get up in front of 100-plus coworkers and tell them your most private stuff, but I felt I must make the effort to ensure that men and everyone are aware of male breast cancer and the fact that it is not just a woman’s illness. I was also invited to speak at another plant during their campaign, and it was so positively received that contributions were higher than ever before. Since I started talking about it in the plant where I work, two employees have asked for my doctor’s number because they felt something. I know this is long, but I just wanted to say thanks to The Rose and both Dr. Melillo and Dorothy Gibbons for founding such an outstanding nonprofit organization, and let’s try to make more men aware. I had a special LED lighted sign made for Dr. Dixie Melillo and The Rose.
At 59 now, I have just finished my third year of post-chemotherapy and, aside from a few minor side effects I can live with, I am still cancer-free and plan to stay that way. I have since retired from the plant and spend as much time with my family as I can and try to eat shrimp every year at The Rose annual Shrimp Boil fundraiser. I did a photo shoot and interview for The Rose in October 2022. It was a big success, and I had several speaking events at plants in the area to promote getting checked and checking yourself. This year, I did a podcast with the Co-founder of The Rose, Dorothy Higgins, which will be aired on the Rose podcast channel. I am three years out of chemo, and so far everything is looking good.