"I survived breast cancer and yes I'm a man"

BREAST cancer is most commonly associated with women but the prevalence of it among men is not altogether unknown as David Phillips discovered last year.

Now on the road to recovery, the cancer survivor tells his unique story to reporter Alexandra Barham.

David of High Street, Kimpton, always assumed that breast cancer did not affect men. But after being diagnosed with the illness in July 2008, he was forced to confront the miserable reality that it could blight anyone's health - regardless of gender.

The rare diagnosis followed David's inadvertent discovery of a lump under his left nipple while in the shower.

Not for one moment did the 62-year-old, who has always boasted superb health, anticipate it could be a malignant tumour and he admits he owes his survival to his wife Sue who urged him to see a doctor.

He said: "I had a shower and was brushing myself down and felt a lump under my left nipple - It didn't concern me. "I probably would have ignored it but my wife insisted I should get it checked out. It didn't really cross my mind that I had anything to worry about.

"No alarm bells rang that it could be breast cancer - I was in blissful ignorance."

David insists he was profoundly shock not only to learn that men could be at risk of the disease but that he was among the few male sufferers in the UK.

According to charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, approximately 250 men a year are diagnosed with breast cancer compared to 46,000 cases in women. One of the GP's at David's surgery even admitted in the 35 years of his profession that he had never come across a case of breast cancer in a man. But David warns the rare occurence of the disease among men should not allow them to be complacent, nor should embarassment deter men from seeking help.

"Whilst its unusual it can happen," he said. "Men shouldn't discount it and they should be aware that whilst it's unlikely - it's possible.

"I discovered my lump by chance; I certainly wasn't looking for it at the time - I was lucky I found it. "If there's a moral to the story then it is men should be tuned in to the fact that they can get breast cancer like anybody else.

"At no stage have I been embarassed about my illness," David added. "Just shocked that men can get breast cancer, however rare, and that I have been unlucky enough to get it."

"Most men aren't very good at self examination, and few are very aware of their own bodies - I wasn't. In terms of looking for lumps and thinking of potential repercussions, I'm as ignorant as the next man - I was until this happened."

Advances in medicine has made it possible for mankind to begin life in a test tube, organs to be grown from a mere cluster of cells and cures to be developed for various diseases but awareness of breast cancer among men, it appears, has fallen by the wayside.

Macmillan Cancer charity insist the reason men are diillusioned to the risks of breast cancer is due to its scarcity among them.

Steve Richards of the cancer charity, said: "Approximately 250 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK- compared with almost 46,000 cases in women- and while those odds may be reassuringly small, if you are diagnosed with breast cancer as a man it can be a very isolating experience. Some men find it difficult or embarrassed to talk about their breast cancer, especially as it more commonly affects women. Men find that they experience many different emotions including anger, disbelief, guilt, anxiety and fear. These are all normal reactions, and are part of the process many people go through in trying to come to terms with their illness.

“Macmillan has a specialist team of breast care nurses at St Albans City Hospital who are equipped and able to deal with the concerns of all their patients as well as specific information on male breast cancer on their website and a nurse-led telephone advice service. We would encourage any men affected by breast cancer to take advantage of this support from our experts.”

David underwent a mastectomy just days after doctors told him he had breast cancer - the day he also learned he was to become a grandfather for the very first time.

His nipple, the 15mm tumour, which specialists predict had been growing for three to four years, and tissue from the chest area were removed together with 22 lymph nodes under the arm where cancer cells had also been detected. But his treatment didn't stop there. David was ordered to have chemotherapy, which he completed a fortnight ago, and a course of radiotherapy starting this month. For the next five years David will have to take anti-cancer pills to prevent the disease from returning.

David's seven-month battle with cancer has transformed life as he knew it. He has endeavoured to juggle his thriving businesses and his voluntary sittings as a Magistrate in St Albans with his treatment which has, at times, weakened him emotionally and physically.

"I was always pretty fit and active," he said. "I would play any old sport and I have never been ill in my life.

"I had no reason to doubt that that wasn't going to continue and then this happened. You realise your immortality all of a sudden. It was so out of the blue - an unwelcome shock which makes you look at life slightly differently.

"Your life can be changed in a second, it's not worth saving up fully for a rainy day because you might not get there."

But for David, his personal diagnosis was not his first encounter with breast cancer.

His mother died aged 69 from the disease and members of his wife's family have also been struck with the illness. But thankfully David's prognosis is extremely optimistic with doctors expecting him to make a full recovery.

Now the survivor is keen to spread vital breast cancer awareness messages to men while raising money for cancer research by taking part in the Moonlight walk in May.

He concluded: "I look forward to March 5 when my last radiotherapy session is due to take place and then I can hopefully move back to life as it existed before this was diagnosed."

Breast cancer facts

• About one man for every 140 women are diagnosed with breast cancer
• Around 1% of breast cancers occur in men
• Breast cancer behaves in a similar way in men than in women and so is usually treated in much the same way
• It is often very difficult to find information and support when you are diagnosed with a rare cancer
• It is most common in men over the age of 60
• It occurs in the small amount of tissue behind men’s nipples which few men are aware of, as such it is often diagnosed later than in women.

• The cancer therefore tends to be more advanced when it is diagnosed, and harder to treat.

• For most men, surgery is the first choice of treatment. However, men cannot usually have just the lump removed (lumpectomy). This is because the amount of breast tissue that most men have is so small, and because the tumour is often near or under the nipple. Most men having surgery need to have all of the breast tissue and the nipple removed (a mastectomy). Some, or all, of the lymph nodes under the arm are likely to be removed as well.

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