My journey started back in 2020. I thought I had an insect bite 2 inches from my left nipple. This was in August of 2020. By September, I started to get pectoral muscle pain.
Thinking I had pulled something while lifting heavy stuff. By October/November, there was not much change, and as COVID was taking hold of the country, I couldn’t get to see a doctor.
On December 9th, a searing pain hit me in the night in my left breast, and by that morning, I made my way to the emergency doctor. When I explained to the nurse what had happened, she promptly sent me to the cancer clinic for an X-ray to be on the safe side.
I had the tit squash and had a chat with the consultant who then decided they needed a biopsy. A week later, I received a letter saying they needed to see me. YES, I had cancer in my breast.
I went through another tit squash to see the tumor was 14mm. It was then that I was told I would have to have a mastectomy and then chemo, followed by tamoxifen. When asked why I didn’t seem concerned about what was to happen to me, my reply was, “You saved my wife from breast cancer, now it’s your turn to help me.” There was nothing I could do.
So, by mid-January 2021, I had the operation. Same day surgery, operation was 1at pm, they woke me up at 5:15 pm, and I was home by 7:30 pm. 3 weeks with the drain bottle, then I marched on to start the chemo.
All my hair fell out within 48 hours, and I was sleeping more. All in all, the usual side effects. By the 3rd round of chemo, my finger and toenails came off, and then here’s the best thing, my freckles started dropping off! That was strange and didn’t seem right, so back to the hospital for a consultant. You guessed it, I’d been suffering from skin cancer for approximately 9 years and never knew it, so they upped my chemo.
In a way, breast cancer saved me from skin cancer. I finished chemo in June 2021, then the fun started from August onwards, with my teeth becoming loose. I pulled 12 of them out myself, no blood or pain, with the rest being removed by the hospital over a couple of months. Chemo weakens bone structure.
I then got severe peripheral neuropathy in my hands, lower legs, and feet, which up till now has gotten worse as I have difficulty walking. My hands only feel numb and pins and needles, and I’m always dropping stuff. I also have carpal tunnel in both hands. Then I also found out I’ve now got a weakened heart, so no heavy exertion. I have already had one scare last February when I spent 1 week in the hospital.
Right now, I’m on 12 pills a day for one thing or another. I’m not scared of mongering because treatment affects people in different ways. Thanks to the NHS, they have kept me alive, and they were brilliant, but every time I go for checkups, there is still no info on male breast cancer.