I
THE PARK
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Male Breast Cancer: My
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JI\I LIFESTYLE MAGAZU
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A34
n late 2001, I started to have pain
Three days later, I went through the
in my left breast. My internist
same dance.
said, "Breast cancer rarely, if ever,
"We want to send these slides to Beth
presents itself with pain." I was over-
Israel/Deaconess Hospital in Boston
weight and at the age (52) where male where the best-known ATH pathologist
breast tissue develops because of a
in the country works."
drop in testosterone and an
Three days later, the
increase in estrogen levels.
same question: I am now
But he said I shouldn't
famous for all the wrong
worry. To rule out anything,
reasons!
though, he sent me for a
I made an appointment at
mammogram at Beaumont
the Walt Breast Center at the
Hospital, Royal Oak.
Karmanos Cancer Institute
The mammogram pro-
in Detroit for a second
cess for a male is an inter-
opinion. A big, lovable, furry
esting one. The system is
doctor with the most reas-
built around women and
suring demeanor in the
rightly so; the cases of male
Fred Levine
world said: "Don't worry;
breast cancer are small —
Special to the
this is precancerous."
somewhere on the order of
Jewish News
Then the caveat; "We
2 percent of breast cancers.
could give you Tamoxifen,
There are no male dressing rooms.
but since we have never seen ATH in a
The test results: I had a large gyn-
male we have never had a reason to give
aecomastia mass on the left side
it to a male. We have no idea of what
and a smaller mass on the right. I
the side effects would be."
was referred to a breast surgeon at
They didn't know if I would grow
Beaumont Hospital. She decided to do a second head or a third arm ... who
a biopsy.
knew? Certainly, not me.
This wasn't a needle biopsy; she
"You can do monthly self-exams and
removed a mass roughly double the size yearly mammograms, but self-exams
of a car remote door transmitter with
on a man are difficult because there
the key attached! The pathology report
aren't the hormonal changes to make it
showed I had ATH, atypical ductal
easy. Let's play this by ear for a while."
hyperplasia, a pre-cancerous condition
Worst-case scenario: I would have a
never seen in a man.
mastectomy. This is
I broke down;
an easy procedure
my first wife died
and could be done
15 years earlier of
by my breast sur-
cancer. At the time,
geon.
my son was 2. Not
The pain con-
again! The surgeon
tinued to get worse
reassured me that I
for the next several
didn't have cancer.
months, making
She then put the
meetings difficult
chief of pathol-
because I was mas-
ogy department
saging my breast
on the phone. "Are
secretly to ease the
you sure you are a
pain.
man?" I was asked.
I decided
Without getting
enough of this.
graphic, I told them I was sure.
After discussion with my wife, I
"We have never seen this in a man;
decided to book the surgery.
we want to send the slides to the
At the time, I worked locally for
University of Michigan."
JVS. Passover was coming in a month
Three days later, the identical call
or so and it fell on a Wednesday. Since
came from the chief of the U-M
we got the first two days and the last
pathology department.
two days off with a weekend in the
"Are you sure you are a man?" I
middle and a weekend after the last
gave them the same answer. "We want
two days, I could do this with mini-
to send these slides to M.D. Anderson
mal time off from work.
Hospital in Texas."
I called to make the appointment
It is very important
for Ashkenazi males
with a breast cancer
history in their
family to be tested
for the BRCA1 and
BRCA2 mutation.