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'I didn't know men could get breast cancer'
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October again, when the pink ribbons of Breast Cancer Awareness Month remind us how important it is to check up on our own health. We take a look at new technologies and advances in science to help us fight the disease
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OF THE 46,000 people diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every year, only 300 of them are men. So when Stuart Weaver felt a gristly bump near his left nipple while in the shower one cold morning in January 2005, he wasn't particularly worried.
"It just seemed like a bit of fat to me, and I thought it would go on its own," says the father-of-two, who was 36 at the time.
"I didn't even think about it until my wife noticed it six months later and asked what it was."
A visit to the GP, and then to a breast cancer specialist, revealed that Stuart had HER2 breast cancer, a type of cancer that tests positive for a protein called Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2, which promotes cancerous cells.
"It hit me like a bolt of lightening," he says.
"Obviously, cancer is a big, threatening word, but to be told I had breast cancer came completely out of the blue.
"I just remember going into a state of shock and having to lie down, I felt so faint.
"It was always my wife's worst fear, getting breast cancer, and there I was, her husband, getting it instead. I didn't even know men could get breast cancer."
Stuart, who is speaking out about his experience to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, was given a mastectomy just a week later, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
"I think I was the first man my surgeons had ever performed a mastectomy on," he says.
"They offered me reconstruction, but I thought against it: my surgery wasn't as drastic as it is for a woman."
A neat, six-inch scar is all that remains of his left breast today. He looks at it every day in the mirror, but it's noticeable to others only when he wears a tight shirt.
After the surgery, the payroll clerk from Kent began a four-month course of chemotherapy, a step he admits he didn't relish.
"I was really nervous about it - you hear about the throwing up and the weight loss - but I was lucky enough that my body coped well. I wasn't sick once."
Over the course of the next few months, during which he began radiotherapy, Stuart maintained as normal a life as he could, working part-time, seeing friends, and even attending his weekly martial arts class, despite being too exhausted to always do the moves.
"I'd have times when I'd spend too much time on my own and get quite emotional, thinking 'What if it happens again? What if these treatments don't go right?'
"But it's important to stay positive when you have an illness. I did little things, like making sure to have a massage after every session of chemotherapy, to help me de-stress and deal with the process."
His treatment continued with a year-long course, funded by the NHS, of the intravenous drug Herceptin, aimed specifically at HER2 sufferers.
Stuart's wife, Karen, a school supervisor and his "rock and support through it all", was instrumental in pushing forward this potential "cure".
She said: "It was sod's law that Stu got breast cancer and not me. But we didn't have a choice; we had to try to live day to day and carry on as normal for the kids (aged eight and 10 at the time).
"There were bad days, but Stu always coped really well and it definitely brought the family closer together."
Stuart now has checkups every six months, and takes a daily hormone therapy to keep the cancer in check.
He also helps raise funds for the charity Breast Cancer Care, whose support he has relied on over the years, through special events like climbing Ben Nevis and even modelling in fashion shows.
But he says that there are some questions he still ponders, despite three years of remission.
"Coming from a family with no history of breast cancer, you do think to yourself sometimes: 'Why me?'
"I've never smoked; I'm not a heavy drinker; I've never been excessively overweight. Was it my mobile phone, which I used to carry in my left pocket all the time, that set this off?"
It's not fully understood why breast cancer is less common in men than in women - 80% of cases occur in women over 50 - but the theory is that the female hormone oestrogen plays a big part, says Emma Pennery, clinical director of Breast Cancer Care.
"Oestrogen is a fuel for breast cancer, so men are at risk even though they have smaller amounts of the hormone than women.
"But men have less developed breast tissue, which means that they have less bulk for a cancer to grow in. The anatomy of their breast is slightly different from a woman's as well, which also reduces their risk of getting the disease."
Having what is often seen as a "female disease" can be hard for many men, as "men can feel very embarrassed to be dropped into a female world," says Pennery.
"They often feel like they have chests, not breasts, and as though people look at them differently."
That's never been much of a worry for Stuart, however, who is happy to lift up his shirt for anyone who's curious.
But as breast cancer can spread easily to other parts of the body, such as the bones, lungs, liver and brain, it's imperative that he remains vigilant.
"If I feel a tiny lump or am worried about anything now, I'll go to the doctor instead of waiting around," he says.
"Men tend to battle through anything unless it's extreme, but I would recommend checking regularly for anything unusual or abnormal, the same way you would for testicular cancer. It's always better to be safe than sorry."
A REVOLUTION IN TREATMENTS
Every 11 minutes, someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the most common cancer in the UK.
To date, breast cancer treatments have relied on a one-size-fits-all approach like chemotherapy or radiotherapy to kill off cancerous cells, regardless of the type of cancer the patient has.
But new treatments, led by molecular technology, work by specifically targeting the cancerous cells or genes, instead of affecting the whole body, says Dr Stephen Johnston, consultant medical oncologist and director of clinical research and development (R&D) at London's Royal Marsden Hospital.
"We now understand that there are at least six different types of breast cancer, and this is changing our thinking in treating the disease," he says, speaking on behalf of the government-led Science: So What? So Everything campaign.
"Targeted therapy like these new treatments goes to where the gene has gone wrong and delivers specific treatment for that area.
"That means that a patient's treatment could be tailored specifically to their particular subset of breast cancer. And, unlike chemotherapy, which damages both healthy and cancerous cells, these treatments have less effect on the surrounding tissue."
The eight new therapies in current R&D haven't yet gone through clinical trials. Their side-effects are milder than chemotherapy, including skin rashes and diarrhoea but not hair loss, and they would be available in tablet form.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR BREASTS
1. Know what is normal for you
2. Know what to look and feel for
3. Look and feel regularly
4. Report any changes to your GP immediately
5. Attend routine breast screening if you're over 50
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