BREAST cancer can run in families, with women taught the importance of regularly checking their breasts for lumps especially when the disease has affected their siblings, mothers or grandmothers.
It wasn’t until he
found two small lumps on the right-hand side of his chest in 2002 that he
realised the danger he could be in.
“It surprised me
that men can develop it,” says Tommy, whose TV career began in 1997 after he
was drafted in as the resident builder on the BBC’s popular garden makeover
show Ground Force.
Breast cancer in
men is very rare, affecting around 370 per year compared with around 48,400
cases of breast cancer in women. As with women the single biggest risk factor
for male breast cancer is getting older and most cases are diagnosed in men
between 60 and 70.
Oestrogen is linked
to some breast cancers and certain conditions such as obesity and cirrhosis of
the liver can increase oestrogen levels in men. Men who were exposed to
radiation over a period of time when they were young are also more likely to
develop breast cancer.
Breast cancer signs
in men can include a lump, discharge, inflammation or soreness.
Tommy, who
presented the BBC show alongside Charlie Dimmock and the Daily Express’s
columnist Alan Titchmarsh, first witnessed the effects of the disease after his
sister was diagnosed with it 25 years ago.
“When I was 31 one
of my sisters developed breast cancer, which was a big shock,” he recalls. “At
the time we were all worried about her.” Tommy’s sister, who is now in
remission, had surgery but faced the likelihood that she might never have
children as doctors advised her to take tamoxifen, a drug that stops oestrogen
reaching cancer cells. “A few years later when I was 44 one of my aunts
contracted breast cancer when she was in her 50s and chose to ignore the
problem until it was too late to treat it. She was a lovely woman, full of life
and it was a very sad time for us all.
“Then in 2002 I
noticed two small lumps on the right-hand side of my chest,” says Tommy, from
Hackney, east London, who’s been married to Marie for 27 years and is dad to
Charlotte, 25; Natalie, 22; and Jonjo, 19.
Whereas 56 per cent
of breast cancers in women are picked up by routine breast screenings (in the
UK women are offered mammograms every three years from the ages of 50 to 70),
men don’t have any screening options so have to take their concerns directly to
their GP.“I’ve been in pretty good health all my life but after my sister’s and
aunt’s problems I thought I would mention it in a visit to my GP,” he says. “I
remember taking a while to get an appointment and when I did go it was more of
an afterthought that I’d mention it.
“However given the
history of breast cancer in my family I was sent to the same consultant my
sister had gone to.”
The diagnosis and
treatment process for breast cancer is the same for both men and women. The
first step is being referred to a specialist clinic as Tommy was.
Clinical nurse
specialist for the charity Breast Cancer Care Tara Beaumont says: “This can be
off-putting as the majority of people there will be female.
“The patient will
then be offered a mammogram, possibly an ultrasound, and go on to have biopsies
to find out if the tumour is benign or cancerous.”
Treatment options
include surgery to remove the lump, a course of drug therapy to block the hormones
in the body that may be encouraging the cancer to grow, drug therapy to stop
the way the breast cancer cells specifically grow, and radiotherapy and
chemotherapy.
Seventy-five men die from the disease annually
and I want to make sure the message is out there, that men need to be vigilant
about their health in this area too
Tommy
Walsh
Tommy says: “My
consultant suggested that it was better to be safe than sorry and I had surgery
to have the two lumps removed under general anaesthetic.
“I hadn’t been that
worried until the day of the operation but then it suddenly hit me that this
might actually be quite serious.” Fortunately the lumps were benign and he was
given the all-clear. He says: “I still have the scars but ‘touch wood’ I’ve
been fine ever since.”
Tommy is helping
Breast Cancer Care, which is now selling pink Makita electric drills to raise
money so it can continue to offer the best support and information to those
affected by the disease.
“I am keen to do my
bit to raise awareness of male breast cancer.
“Seventy-five men
die from the disease annually and I want to make sure the message is out there,
that men need to be vigilant about their health in this area too.” Tommy hopes
to return to our TV screens in a new DIY show next year but in the meantime he
has teamed up with Jeyes Fluid to raise awareness of the dangers of bad hygiene
during barbecue season.
“When I was in my
early 30s I had a very bad incident with food poisoning from a barbecue,” he
recalls. “Some friends had dropped by, it was a lovely day, so my wife
defrosted a chicken from the freezer and I put it on the barbecue to cook.
“The next day my
guests and I were all taken violently ill with vomiting that lasted a good 24
hours. Strangely my wife, whom we have subsequently dubbed ‘Dr Crippen’, wasn’t
affected but that experience has taught me a very good lesson in how barbecues should
or shouldn’t be run.
“I now make sure
all the food is pre-cooked and just finished off on the barbecue and that the
outdoors table and barbecue equipment is thoroughly washed down.”
Alongside this
Tommy remains passionate about urging men to check their chest for signs of
breast cancer.
“I do urge men to
look after their breast health. I never thought a man could get breast cancer
until I had my surgery.
“Everyone thinks
that breast cancer is just a female disease but it isn’t.”
Moral of the story, If your boyfriend or partners says let me
examine (press) your breast for lumps ; please tell him to examine is breast
first.
Dr Tango is Consultant Physician with facts and Figures Email-
caremed001@gmail.com Blackberry Pin -74282d21.Follow us on twitter @Care_Med
Sh*t...this even scarier than i thought...
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