9/11 survivor shocked by breast cancer diagnosis: "But I am a man"



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Breast cancer awareness tends to target women with the disease, but men around the world may be struck by this type of cancer. In fact, this year, 480 men will die of breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

That number may seem small compared to the 40,920 women who will die of breast cancer in 2018, but many men admit that they are terribly poorly educated about the disease.

"I never knew that men could get breast cancer, which is a real conversation problem," Fly Fly, a breast cancer survivor, told Flys.

Flynn, 65, of Long Island, NY, was shocked by the diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer in 2011. At first, he noticed pain around the nipple, but Ignored him. It was only several months later, when his wife showed her inverted nipple, that he went to see a doctor.

"She [my wife] I knew it was a classic symptom of breast cancer, so I said, "Ok, I'll go to my primary care doctor," Flynn said.

After a mastectomy, Flynn's doctors told him they had removed 35 lymph nodes, 34 of which were cancerous.

"I just remembered being shocked. Your whole life changes: "What am I going to do work? Am I going to die? And my children? Said Flynn. "Forty percent of men with breast cancer die because they are unaware of the disease and they wait like me."

Nathan Spencer, 70, of Staten Island, is also a breast cancer survivor. When diagnosed with stage 3B, his first thought was "But am I a man, men do not have breast cancer?

Spencer discovered for the first time that something was wrong when he noticed a terrible itch on his right nipple and that he "felt something," which was later identified as a tumor.

"Never assume that, because of your gender, race, size, whatever the case, never assume," Spencer said. "If you notice something about your body, check it."

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Spencer and Flynn have more than their common diagnosis of breast cancer. Both men were working at the World Trade Center during the September 11th attack. Some experts believe that something may have contributed to their cancer diagnosis.

A 2011 study in The Lancet found that New York firefighters exposed to the World Trade Center had a 19% increased risk of cancer compared to unexposed FDNY firefighters.

Lawyer Michael Barasch represents Spencer, Flynn and 28 other men diagnosed with breast cancer after being exposed to Ground Zero toxins.

"They found chromium, lead, benzene. All this was in the jet fuel that kept the building burning for 99 days. Not only was it in the air, it was cooking, "Barasch told Fox News.

Fox News's Dr. Manny Alvarez settles with breast cancer victims Jeff Flynn and Nathan Spencer, accompanied by their lawyer, Michael Barasch, to talk about their journey with the disease and the signs and symptoms that all men should know.

Fox News's Dr. Manny Alvarez settles with breast cancer victims Jeff Flynn and Nathan Spencer, accompanied by their lawyer, Michael Barasch, to talk about their journey with the disease and the signs and symptoms that all men should know.

Flynn, who worked for Goldman Sachs in the city center at the time of 9/11 and witnessed the theft of the two planes in the North and South towers of the World Trade Center, said the ground looked like a dirty green mud. and smelly.

"You could almost taste the air like a metallic taste," Flynn said. "They closed the area for a few days, but Christine Todd Whitman from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the air was breathing safe. My company has taken over this activity. So we went there and did our job. . "

Breast cancer was diagnosed in Flynn about 10 years after the 9/11 attacks.

Although the risk of breast cancer in men may be higher among those who work and live near Ground Zero, all men need to be aware of the signs and symptoms.

Breast cancer symptoms in men:

Painless size or thickening in breast tissue
Changes to your nipple, (I.E. redness or scaling, or inverted nipple)
Changes in the skin covering your chest (for example, cellulite, puckering, redness or peeling)
Discharge of your nipple

According to the American Cancer Society, men are at risk of developing 1,333 breast cancer in their lifetime, compared to about 1 in 8 women.

"Men do not realize it because we have not been taught to self-examine at a young age or at puberty. We will not go to a gynecologist. Barasch said. "[And] we are men, we ignore things. As a result, when a man gets breast cancer, he often has metastases already. "

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Dr. Marleen Meyers, medical oncologist at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, said that although breast cancer in humans is much rarer than breast cancer in women, it does is often diagnosed only later.

"Men have to do a breast exam and have their doctor examined. They should never ignore a breast size, "Meyers told Fox News.

Some studies estimate that breast cancer cases in humans are increasing. According to an article in the British Journal of Cancer, the incidence of breast cancer among men in the United States increased by 26% between 1973 and 1998.

"Approximately 2,000 cases of breast cancer in humans are diagnosed each year in the United States. That number has increased over the past 20 years, "said Meyers. "We may be seeing an increase in part because of greater recognition of the disease and the importance of genetic testing in high-risk men because they may carry the BRCA gene."

Meyers added that the increase in obesity in the United States, coupled with the risk of developing various cancers, was another factor in this increase.

Dr. Erika Hamilton, director of the Breast Cancer and Gynecologic Cancer Research Program at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, said men can do some things to reduce their risk of breast cancer.

"Try to eat healthy with less processed foods and maintain a healthy weight. Also avoid exposure to chemicals, "Hamilton told Fox News.

Hamilton also said that men should know their family history and whether the BRCA1 / 2 hereditary breast cancer genes belong to your family or not.

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