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Not for Women Only

Breast cancer can hit men, too

By Elizabeth A. Katz Photo by John Sobczak

Stores that cater to those fighting breast cancer are filled with wigs, colorful scarves and post-mastectomy bras. Participants in walks and runs raising money for research often offer testimonials such as "I’m walking for my sister" or "I’m doing this for my mother." It’s clearly a girl thing. Even the color symbolizing the fight against the disease is pink.

But Robert Marsac of Ferndale knows breast cancer is not just a women’s disease. That’s because Marsac is a survivor.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated that in 2007, 180,510 people in the United States would be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Of those, 2,030, or just over 1%, would be men. About 450 men will die of the disease, in contrast to 40,460 women, according to the ACS.

Marsac’s experience began when he noticed discharge coming from his nipple one day in summer 2003. The discharge had soaked through his T-shirt, and Marsac, who is now 34, wisely decided he’d better see a doctor.

Still, Marsac, an office manager at Holiday Market in Royal Oak, was surprised when his doctor told him he had breast cancer. "I was a little shocked, but I had heard of [breast cancer diagnoses in men] before," he says

Within three weeks of the diagnosis, surgeons performed a mastectomy on Marsac’s right breast. He went through four treatments of chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. "It all happened so fast, I didn’t have time to process it," says Marsac.

But his quickness in getting to a doctor likely saved his life. Despite the fact that few men are diagnosed with the disease, many doctors encourage them to have their breasts and chest wall examined as part of a yearly physical.

"Just like men are instructed to do testicular exams … I think it’s important for them to examine their breasts," says Scott Schell, M.D., Ph.D., director of Beaumont Hospitals’ Comprehensive Breast Care Centers, where Marsac was treated.

Schell says that Marsac’s diagnosis at such a young age is rare, because breast cancer tends to show up in men in their 60s and 70s. Men at greater risk for breast cancer include those with strong family histories of breast cancer, Klinefelter’s Syndrome (which causes an extra X chromosome), greater levels of estrogen, and gynecomastia (enlargement of the breasts).

Schell advises men to pay attention to possible symptoms, including lumps that usually appear just under the nipple, changes in the breast skin and nipple discharge.

Marsac considers himself lucky that he paid attention to his body. He is now cancerfree, and is seeing a reconstructive surgeon to rebuild his chest. He credits his recovery to having a strong support system at work, including co-worker Lori Hallendy, who took Marsac to his chemotherapy treatments.

"He was the first man I had heard of who got breast cancer," says Hallendy, an office manager at the store. "It made me feel good to be there for him to lean on."

Marsac continues to see his oncologist once a year and undergoes an annual mammogram, but says the worst is behind him. "I feel great," he says