Breast cancer in men is rare, but does occur
5:45 p.m. Monday, November 5, 2007
Few men get breast cancer, but when they do, it's often deadly.
One survivor explains how he found the cancer and why women helped him in the fight.
"Charmaine kept saying, 'Go to the doctor and I said no'," breast cancer survivor Sergio Campanini said.
Like most men, Sergio Campanini doesn't like going to the doctor. He felt a hard bump in his breast, but refused to get it checked. Finally he gave up the fight with his wife and decided to see a doctor.
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He soon learned a much more serious fight with breast cancer was about to begin.
"I was not aware of cancer," Sergio said. "I knew nothing about cancer."
Sergio says he learned the hard way. And like most men just assumed only women get breast cancer.
"Nobody talks about it and I think men don't like to talk about it," Sergio said.
That may be why one in four men who get breast cancer die from it. This year, a little more than 2,000 men will be diagnosed. Of those, 450 will die. Hundreds die because it often goes undetected.
After Sergio's early detection, he began treatment right away.
"I started chemo," Sergio said. "I had surgery. They took my whole left breast out."
Sergio also went to a cancer support group called Bosom Buddies where he was outnumbered.
"Every place I go, every meeting I got to it's always women," Sergio said. "Women talking to women about problems with ovaries and uterus. I say I have no hot flashes, don't bother me. (laughs)."
Learn More
The American Cancer Society has a detailed guide concerning male breast cancer on their Web site, www.cancer.org.
Sergio's humor helped, but he says that often just masked what he really felt.
"Beyond the facade, there is the fear of cancer. It is final. It's only a matter of time...but there is hope," he said.
Sergio beat the cancer. He is now cancer free.
Breast cancer in men is rare, even more rare is a husband and wife battling breast cancer at the same time.
Sergio and his wife Charmaine were diagnosed within three months of each other.
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