Breast Cancer in males; an unknown reality

Breast cancer has for a long time been known to be a disease that solely affects women, yet recent discoveries have shown that more and more cases of breast cancer in men are being diagnosed in last few decades.

To help mark Breast Cancer Awareness month, a survivor of this rear occurrence, Mr Abeiku Arthur shared how he discovered that he had breast cancer some thirteen years ago.

Mr Abeiku Arthur admitted that prior to his diagnosis, he had no idea the disease affected both sexes.

He recounted a time when he had bigger breasts than the average male, which led him to consider having surgery to reduce the size.

Alongside this, he used to wake up with drops of blood in his bed and clothing which he was unaware was a symptom so he ignored it since there was no pain.

“I booked an appointment for surgery to reduce the size of my breast, but after three weeks my surgeon called me to come back and said I have breast cancer on the left side. I didn’t even know that males could get breast cancer until he told me this. So I had to go back to undergo the proper surgery,” he said.

With regard to the treatment process, Mr Abeiku Arthur explained the treatment process of chemotherapy and what his personal experience were when he was battling the condition.

He explained that chemotherapy is the main treatment used to get rid of the cancer cells although it also affects both good and bad cells.

He shared how much he empathizes with persons who are undergoing chemotherapy because he recalled that his experience was not a pleasant one.

He advises that “you have to brave up so that you can have the energy to go for the other sessions. I had to go six times and when you are injected with the chemo, there are so many implications. With me I couldn’t eat and sometimes you get irritated grace of God, you can survive”.

In addition, he also advised families who discover that a member will have to go through chemotherapy to be strong enough to help the patient push through the process so they win the fight against breast cancer together.

Mr Abeiku Arthur recounted how his wife stood strong by his side with encouragement and was firm with her emotions even when others cried around him.

This he said is what gave him hope and helped to persevere as he inched towards complete recovery.

October is breast cancer awareness month, men and women alike need to get screened for early detection treatment and preservation of lives.

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Story by: Gerald Nii Adu Sarbah | universnewsroom.com