Hi Steve 

I have only just read your post and am sorry to hear that you have cancer.  My husband was also diagnosed with breast cancer last December and I wanted to let you know you are not alone.  It was a horrible shock but several months later he is calmly going through the treatment.  He had surgery during January involving isolating for COVID before and after.  He came out the same day.  He is currently nearing the end of 12 cycles of Taxol chemotherapy, and is also having Herceptin injections every 3 weeks.  Radiotherapy will be next and we are waiting to hear the details for that.  He will then have Tamoxifen for 10 years, I think.

Side effects aren't pleasant but aren't too severe.  He is 65 and retired so it does mean he can rest a lot.  His sister was also treated for breast cancer about 10 years again and is fully recovered. So it does seem to run in families.

I wish you all the best with your treatment and hope you're not suffering too much.  It would certainly be good to hear from more men or their partners/families.

Louise

Louise

Thank you for your reply.

How is your husband now? I am now two weeks post mastectomy, I don't feel so bad, just a little sore and I've a reasonable seroma which I hope will go away. It appears to have shrunk these last couple of days. 

I was told i am now cancer free last week which was a huge relief to me and my wife given my family history and my age, 40.

Yes, likewise, I still require an injection treatment every three weeks until December but this seems easy compared to the last few months. 

Thanks again for replying, means a lot. 

Love

Steve 

Hi Steve 

Nice to hear from you and know that you're through the surgery and all is looking well.

John had terrible bruising after the op, right down to the waist, but the doctors and nurses all said it was fine (although they winced).  Sure enough it disappeared over the weeks.  He too had a seroma which was tender and swollen. At his post-op consultation, the surgeon drew off a syringe and a half of fluid, it wasn't painful and it reduced the tenderness.  A little swelling came back but the body gradually absorbed it and it went away.  The scar has healed nicely now and he is just left with a slight indentation on his chest.

He just has a couple more Taxol sessions to go out of the 12 weekly cycles.  His side effects have been thinning/loss of hair (but not eyelashes or eyebrows), fatigue, headaches, skin rashes and dryness, diarrhoea on and off, and blocked/bleeding nose with bloody snot (sorry, but graphic). But nothing at the extreme end and manageable with paracetamol, Imodium and skin creams.

Next will be radiotherapy because his tumour was 3.1cm with little margin and right against the skin and chest wall. They just want to make sure they get any residual cancer cells.  The good news is that it hadn't spread to the lymph nodes.

He's coped with it very well and has focused on it one step, appointment at a time.  At first I spent time googling everything but I've concluded it doesn't help and makes you feel more anxious.

He has been referred for genetic screening so perhaps that will shed some light on his family history.  Although we know his sister doesn't have the BRAC1 & 2 genes, and she didn't have a HER-2 positive tumour. We've said if you get cancer, breast cancer is one of the most treatable and even curable (in some cases).  The sheer numbers of people being treated has led to better and more effective treatments with better outcomes.

I've written a fair bit of detail here in case other men find your post.  Although it is rare in men, it is the same disease and they treat it in the same way as women with the similar steps, side effects and outcomes, so there is plenty to be positive about.

Hope you continue to recover well.

Louise

Hi Steve 

Nice to hear from you and know that you're through the surgery and all is looking well.

John had terrible bruising after the op, right down to the waist, but the doctors and nurses all said it was fine (although they winced).  Sure enough it disappeared over the weeks.  He too had a seroma which was tender and swollen. At his post-op consultation, the surgeon drew off a syringe and a half of fluid, it wasn't painful and it reduced the tenderness.  A little swelling came back but the body gradually absorbed it and it went away.  The scar has healed nicely now and he is just left with a slight indentation on his chest.

He just has a couple more Taxol sessions to go out of the 12 weekly cycles.  His side effects have been thinning/loss of hair (but not eyelashes or eyebrows), fatigue, headaches, skin rashes and dryness, diarrhoea on and off, and blocked/bleeding nose with bloody snot (sorry, but graphic). But nothing at the extreme end and manageable with paracetamol, Imodium and skin creams.

Next will be radiotherapy because his tumour was 3.1cm with little margin and right against the skin and chest wall. They just want to make sure they get any residual cancer cells.  The good news is that it hadn't spread to the lymph nodes.

He's coped with it very well and has focused on it one step, appointment at a time.  At first I spent time googling everything but I've concluded it doesn't help and makes you feel more anxious.

He has been referred for genetic screening so perhaps that will shed some light on his family history.  Although we know his sister doesn't have the BRAC1 & 2 genes, and she didn't have a HER-2 positive tumour. We've said if you get cancer, breast cancer is one of the most treatable and even curable (in some cases).  The sheer numbers of people being treated has led to better and more effective treatments with better outcomes.

I've written a fair bit of detail here in case other men find your post.  Although it is rare in men, it is the same disease and they treat it in the same way as women with the similar steps, side effects and outcomes, so there is plenty to be positive about.

Hope you continue to recover well.

Louise