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James Barry was only half awake when he got up one morning, took off his shirt and scratched his chest. He was surprised when he felt something strange.
"I'm scratching all the time and I got up one morning to scratch my chest and I noticed that fat mass near my nipple," Barry recalls.
The resident of McKeesport, 69 years old at the time, immediately acted.
"I called my doctor and he looked at me and he wanted me to have a mammogram," Barry said. "I had a mammogram, a biopsy, and two weeks after the day I discovered it, they did me surgery."
This operation involved removing a tumor from breast cancer. It's not common, but men can develop breast cancer. In the United States, breast cancer is diagnosed annually in only 2,500 men, compared to 266,000 among women.
Men have a 1 in 1,000 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime.
Dr. Maricel Castaner, Barry's oncologist, of the Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute, said men sometimes had it, especially men who had a family history of breast cancer.
"Some patients have the BRCA mutation gene and we see it coming together in families where a sister or mother has breast cancer. Any man who has a lump should be checked, "said Castaner. "In the case of (Barry), he saw his mass, underwent surgery and we checked him for any mutation and see if he was carrying this gene."
Castaner explained that it is more common for men with the BRCA gene to develop prostate cancer rather than breast cancer. Barry passed genetic tests, which showed that he was not wearing the BRCA gene, which he was happy to learn since he had four children and nine grandchildren.
Barry underwent surgery and the test results showed that his cancer was detected at an early stage. The operation took away all the breast tissue and nipple from one side. Since the tests on his lymph nodes came back clear, he did not have to undergo radiotherapy or chemotherapy. He is now taking tamoxifen, a drug that can block the effects of estrogen and progesterone hormones that can promote the growth of certain tumors.
He also has an annual mammogram on the other side of his chest.
"Normally, men do not need mammography," said Castaner. "Because they have a smaller amount of breast tissue, they can feel a size easier."
She said this is one of the reasons why cases of breast cancer in humans are often diagnosed early.
"It's treated basically the same way," said Castaner. "Once a man receives a diagnosis, we normally have him pass annual mammograms from the other breast. In women, lumpectomy can be done, but men usually undergo mastectomy. "
There is not enough breast tissue for a mammogram on the side where Barry was operated, but the other side is examined each year.
Regarding the unusual diagnosis of breast cancer in humans, Barry said that he was not shocked because he knew that men could develop it.
"When I went to the clinic for the first time, there were all these women there, then me," he laughed. "Just before I left, another man came in."
He also adds that he was not really surprised at his biopsy.
"I could see the faces of the nurse and they were all concerned, so I thought I had cancer," he said.
Cancer is common in his family, loved ones dying from lung cancer and leukemia – but not from breast cancer.
Now 73, Barry said a nipple was removed and some scars did not bother him at all. He maintains a positive attitude even now that he has been diagnosed with another form of cancer.
Castaner treats him for neuroendicrine cancer in the lymph nodes of his stomach with a tumor.
"The doctor said that it was very slow and that it would probably take a lot of time," Barry said.
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