A 69-year-old Englishman has been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer after seeing a lump in his right breast.
In the common imagination, breast cancer is a disease of women. However, breast cancer also exists in men: according to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 1% of affected patients are male.
In October 2022, Mike Burrows, a 69-year-old Englishman, discovered a lump the size of a pea in her right breast. At first not very worried, the grandfather ended up making an appointment with his general practitioner a week later, noting that the lump did not disappear.
Mike Burrows is sent by his doctor to the Royal Derby Hospital (England) to do a biopsy. “I found myself in a waiting room where I was the only man; I asked myself “but what am I doing here?” “
The results are not long in coming: on October 25, 2022, Mike Burrows learns that he is suffering from stage 2 breast cancer.My wife and I were very shocked” he recalls.
On November 28, 2022, the septuagenarian underwent a mastectomy (with removal of the lymph nodes), then 5 radiotherapy sessions in March 2023. “During my treatment, I realized that most of the brochures were written for women… while men can also be affected by this disease!“
“You have to put your pride aside when something goes wrong”
“Men aren’t used to calling their doctor when something’s wrong, and that’s wrong: you have to put your pride aside and ask for help, otherwise you risk losing your life !“he analyzes.
The National Cancer Institute describes the main risk factors for breast cancer in men: these are age (men over 60 are more affected), family history (when one has a case of breast cancer in the family – male or female!), cirrhosis of the liver, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption or even health problems related to the testicles (orchiectomy, cryptorchidism… ).
Experts point out that, in the vast majority of cases, breast cancer in men corresponds to an infiltrating ductal carcinoma. “Symptoms, disease course and management […] are substantially the same in men and women“.
Source : Ireland Live