While on a trip to Las Vegas in 2021, Robert Pfleghardt was out with his friends, drinking and having a gala time when one of his friends twisted his nipples as a prank.
The trip ended, but the pain around his nipple that was twisted by his friend, stayed. The pain grew rather sharp and prompted Pfleghardt to pay a visit to his doctor.
On evaluation, his doctor found a lump as large as an eraser next to his nipple. The doctor eventually asked him to do a mammogram test. The results were shocking for the retired accountant, as he was eventually diagnosed with breast cancer.
Everyone is born with some breast tissue, so anyone can get breast cancer. Male breast cancer is mostly seen in older men, but it can happen at any age.
The rates for men getting diagnosed with breast cancer are low compared to women. According to the American Cancer Society, a man's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is about 1 in 755. Fewer than 1% of breast cancers in the United States occur in men.
According to the New York Post, around 420 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year, accounting for less than 1% of all diagnoses.
The American Cancer Society states that approximately 2,670 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2026, and about 530 men will die from the disease.
The doctors asked Pfleghardt to do a mammogram test. He recalls that at the clinic, ‘They called out for Mrs Pfleghardt instead of Mr Pfleghardt. They said “man coming through” because there were a lot of women, and some of them were getting scans with their tops off.’
He found the test process quite weird. When the test results came out, a woman came over to handover his results with tears in her eyes. She said that the lump was indeed a breast cancer and they were concerned it had spread to his lymph nodes.
As the tests confirmed the cancer had spread to one lymph node, doctors recommended Pfleghardt undergo a double mastectomy and removal of 19 lymph nodes.
After careful consideration, Pfleghardt decided to do a lumpectomy instead. Besides the surgery, he was advised a month of radiation therapy and prescribed Tamoxifen, a drug to prevent his breast cancer from returning.
Mastectomy is a surgery carried out to remove all of the breast tissue. Depending on the type of cancer, the nipple, areola, and nearby tissues may also be removed.
Whereas, lumpectomy is a surgery to remove the cancerous lump/tumor along with a small margin of surrounding healthy tissue, while preserving most of the breast.
The retired Virginia accountant, on diagnosis of his breast cancer, kept the diagnosis a secret, keeping it to himself and his wife. However, today he shares his story vividly and hopes that his experience will encourage and raise awareness among men to understand that they can also develop breast cancer.
Several risk factors can increase the chances of cancer among men, including older age, BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations, family history, previous radiation or hormone therapy treatments, obesity, and certain conditions that affect the testicles, which are also associated with increased breast cancer risk. Other conditions associated with increased estrogen exposure, such as Klinefelter syndrome and cirrhosis, can also increase the risk.
After 5 years since his diagnosis, Pfleghardt is preparing for his full body scan, and he is optimistic about the results. He feels confident and believes everything is going to be fine.
(Rh/MF/MSM)