We talk a lot about breast cancer, but we don’t talk a lot about men getting breast cancer.  So when Tony Herbert, 68, discovered he had breast cancer in 2011 he was in shock.  Now a supporter of Breast Cancer Care, he shares his story from diagnosis to recovery…

I was on a safari holiday in Namibia in August 2010 when I felt some soreness in my left nipple. I thought it was probably down to irritation caused by the seatbelt when we were bouncing around on unmade roads, but it persisted when I got back to the UK, and in October I noticed a lump under my nipple. I could tell it was getting bigger and having done some research on the Internet, I decided it was probably a cyst.

In January 2011 however, my wife gave me a playful poke in the chest and felt the lump. By this time it had got a lot bigger and my nipple was turning inwards. My wife insisted I see my GP – up until now she didn’t know I had a problem.

Why hadn’t I seen a doctor sooner?

I knew men could get breast cancer, but the numbers were small and I thought it couldn’t happen to me. Then there was the fear of being diagnosed with any sort of cancer – and there’s a reluctance, in men especially, to go to the doctor for anything. Another factor in not having visited the doctor sooner, was not wanting to admit to having a disease that’s widely thought of as something that only affects women. People might think you’re less of a man.

So after five months, I finally saw my GP. He examined me and didn’t think it was anything serious, but referred me to the breast clinic as a precaution.  I still didn’t think I had breast cancer, and it wasn’t until the doctor at the clinic examined me and I saw her expression, that I knew it was something serious. A biopsy confirmed I had breast cancer.

Three days after my diagnosis, I had a mastectomy. In March, I started 18 weeks of chemotherapy. I also had a lymph node clearance, followed by three weeks of radiotherapy. I finished treatment in October 2011, and I’m now taking the hormone therapy tamoxifen for 10 years.

Is breast cancer a ‘woman’s disease’?

My diagnosis was a shock to us all. My wife was extremely supportive and sensitive, but we found it very difficult to tell our children, even though they were grown up.

The plus side of being a man was that I didn’t have any issues with losing a breast, although I sometimes feel a little self-conscious when I go swimming.

Hair loss during chemotherapy wasn’t a problem (I didn’t have much anyway), and not having to shave so much was a bonus. I’ve come to understand that this can be difficult for women to deal with, and that not all men take my view of treatment.

The downside of being a man is that breast cancer is regarded as a woman’s disease. This means a man can feel very isolated and not be able to talk to someone of the same sex. My sister was diagnosed in 2008 and is still in contact with women who were treated at the same time.

I was in a room of my own and didn’t speak to another man who’d had breast cancer until I took part in the Breast Cancer Care fashion show in 2014.  It was also irritating when nurses assumed it was my wife who was the patient when I was attending an appointment.

Because both my sister and I had been diagnosed with breast cancer, the hospital team was keen for me to have genetic testing.  It turned out we both had an altered BRCA2 gene, which increases the risk of breast cancer. This has given us a lot of heartache, worrying about passing the gene on to future generations.

How I got back to fitness after cancer treatment

I am very grateful for all the support I had from my wife, my children and our friends. The treatment I had at Glenfield and the Royal Infirmary was second to none.

After all my treatment, I was determined to get back to the same level of fitness as before. While I was having chemotherapy, I was selected to be a Games Maker at the 2012 Olympics. So I had a target and it was a fantastic experience.

Within a year I was back playing tennis, badminton and golf to almost the same level as before. I have also become involved with Breast Cancer Care and have trained as a Someone like Me volunteer.  I’m now far more aware of the ongoing effects of breast cancer and the worry about developing secondary breast cancer.

I think that men with breast cancer generally have an easier time than women. But the biggest problem is getting them to be aware when they have a problem and then seeing their GP.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SUPPORT FOR MEN AT BREAST CANCER CARE

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