On Friday the 13th of April, 2012, yep it was, I found a lump on the left side. One month later, I got the word that I was one of the roughly 2200 males in the Country that get BC annually. After mastectomy, 6 rounds of chemo and 30 shots of radiation, I am going strong again. It is really a weird feeling to get a "female" disease, but that attitude must quickly be sloughed off in the beginning. The Crap, as I call it, does not care about gender. I have tried to use it as an educational forum that men can get it also. Needless to say, many folks are completely stunned that males get it annually at about the above rate. I have also been tested for the BRCA 1 & 2 mutations, but do not have them. Around 40% of males who get the disease have one of the mutations. While rare, we need to be aware that it is not a strictly female disease. All Survivors, Keep on Keepin' On, beat down the Crap.
Dan Dillon
LTC, USA (ret.)
Knoxville, SC