My husband has finished up his last chemotherapy session for his male breast cancer.  Sessions three and four were more difficult for him than one and two.  His chemotherapy sessions were spaced three weeks apart and at first after about three days he started feeling better.  But the last two sessions took him almost a week before he started feeling good.

He was tired and had body aches which are typical from the Neulasta shots he was receiving.  But this was a good sign that his body was working on producing white blood cells that he needed to help fight off infections.  His hair loss was minimal; his buzz cut was even thinner and shorter than before.  He bruised easily on his arms but that is another side effect of chemotherapy.  He was also taking steroids before and a day after each session and amazingly he gained some weight.  With the last two sessions his appetite waned because he couldn’t taste the food.  But I was there prodding him along to eat.

When the fourth and final session was over, we were ecstatic!  It felt like leaving behind a bad job and moving on to a better job, I’m sure you have experienced this before.  But I must say that during the chemotherapy sessions the nurses and doctors were excellent.  They were always upbeat and supportive.  Never did we see any of these professionals with a bad attitude or a non-caring attitude.  We could tell that they really did care about my husband during his fight to survive breast cancer.

The chemo nurse said that from day one when a patient is diagnosed with cancer, they are survivors.  Every day you survive cancer and every day you experience joy and happiness.  I agree with her and now I know what it really means to be a survivor.  Sometimes life throws you a curve but when you know that there are treatments and wonderful medical staff as well as excellent medicines out there, a curve ball can be an easy swing. 

Just a couple of days ago, the surgeon removed the chemo port from my husband’s chest.  This was the easiest outpatient surgery we have had so far!  In ten minutes he was in and out of the operating room with only a thin scar remaining.

Now it’s onto the Tamoxifen regiment.  Tamoxifen is used as a treatment for breast cancer.  This drug slows or stops the growth of cancer cells that are present in the body. As adjuvant therapy Tamoxifen helps prevent the original breast cancer from returning and also helps prevent the development of new cancers in the other breast.  This drug is generally prescribed for five years. However, the ideal length of treatment is not really known.  Some of the side effects listed for this drug in men include headaches, nausea and/or vomiting, skin rash, impotence, or a decrease in sexual interest. 

Once again we are delving into unknown territory for my husband.  Will he gain weight with this drug?  Will he get more headaches or feel sick?  Only time will tell but at least one thing we know for sure – he’s a Survivor!

Until later,

Linda

Three down and one to go! 

My husband just recently had his third chemotherapy treatment for his male breast cancer and once again no serious ill effects from the treatment.  The drugs that he receives preceding the chemo seem to be doing their job of controlling nausea.  He’s still losing his hair and he does get tired more frequently. 

One of the drugs he takes prior to his chemotherapy and a day after is Dexamethasone.  The only effect he gets from this drug is the hiccups!  He gets the hiccups when he goes from a warm area to a cooler area.  Even if it is just a couple of degrees cooler he starts to hiccup. 

How strange is that?  We talked to the chemo nurse and she said that is typical reaction for Dexamethasone and if it bothers him too much there is a drug that he can take to control his hiccups.

With his prior two chemotherapy treatments he still had an appetite and he gained some weight.  We were told it was the effects of the steroids and that was typical.  However, on this third treatment he seems to have lost some of his appetite.  His taste buds are dull so the food doesn’t taste as good as it did before.  In fact I think he has lost some of the weight he gained.

We are looking forward to the fourth and final chemotherapy treatment.  I won’t say that his chemotherapy treatments were a breeze, because they weren’t.  But we were fortunate that so far his effects from the chemotherapy treatment were minimal and tolerable.

Until later,

Linda

When my husband was diagnosed with male breast cancer a few months ago, we were distressed to learn that the oncologist recommended chemotherapy treatments. Chemotherapy pours poisonous chemicals into your blood that kills the breast cancer cells and stops them from growing. What I couldn’t understand was the surgeon had removed the breast cancer and even did a second surgery to make sure that some of the cancer cell markers were not in his pectoral muscle tissue. Everything was clear, no additional cancer cells in the area and the lymph nodes were clear as well.

Why chemotherapy?

The oncologist told us that chemotherapy was the standard treatment for Stage III breast cancer. It makes no difference if a woman or a man was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer the treatment is the same. Also the gene for growing breast cancer is present and needs to be stopped from growing. He also assured us that men tolerate this type of chemotherapy better than women.

The oncologist highly recommended that an infusion port be inserted into my husband’s chest so that that chemotherapy drugs can be given more easily. Veins tend to collapse and with four treatments the chance for collapsing veins was a real possibility. This was a minor surgery and was done as an outpatient treatment.

Just a few days ago, my husband had his first chemotherapy session. This is what they did:

The infusion port was easily accessed by the nurse. She inserted a tube into the area and drew blood. The blood was checked to make sure that his white blood cells were at an acceptable rate, which they were. She then started and IV which she inserted into the infusion port. Then the Dexamethasone was started which replaces important chemical produced in the body and prevents or reduces irritation and swelling. Zofran medication was then started which helps to prevent nausea and vomiting. So far these medications were good medications and after about an hour and a half all was going well. My husband had so many tubes attached to the main tube in the infusion port it reminded me of all the Christmas tree lights that wind around a tree and are inserted into one outlet.

The last 2 hours the nurse administered the actual chemotherapy drugs. One was Cytoxane that injures or kills cancer cells. After this drug was completed she started the Taxotere or Docetaxel that also kills cancer cells. The side effects from these drugs can cause nausea and of course hair loss among other symptoms.

We then went back the next day for a shot of Neulasta that helps the body make white blood cells and help to prevent infections during chemotherapy.

After two days I am pleased to say that my husband is tolerating the chemotherapy. He is feeling well and is eating well. No hair loss yet. It makes me sad to think that his beautiful mustache that he has worn for over thirty-seven years will be gone in about a week or two. But after the chemotherapy he will just have to grow it back again.

Once again we are taking life one day at a time and are thankful for the good days he has so far. At least we have one treatment down and only three more to go.

Until later,
Linda

Most men get prostrate cancer.  But men do get breast cancer.  Male breast cancer accounts for only 1% of the population of all breast cancers.  However, treatment for male breast cancer is the same as for women.  After my husband’s mastectomy some of the pectoral muscle tissue was also removed.  The tissue showed markers for cancer.  As a result he had to go through another surgery to remove more muscle tissue.  We celebrated the news that no further cancer cells were found in the tissue.  During this second surgery the surgeon also implanted an infusion port into his chest.  The doctor said that the infusion port is the best method to receive chemotherapy otherwise injection through veins is not very productive and has many drawbacks. 

My husband’s chemotherapy is scheduled to start in a couple of weeks.  We are getting prepared for this.  We bought several head scarves, bought a digital thermometer and planning on eating more fruits and vegetables.  Someone suggested we start yoga in order to heal the body and mind during these treatments.  I’ll let you know if we start yoga and if this is true.

I am very impressed with my husband’s attitude.  He is positive and upbeat.  Every bit of good news is celebrated and we thank God for His many blessings.  My husband may not know this but he gives me strength during this time.  He shows me that he is a real fighter and willing to do whatever it takes to beat breast cancer.  Quite frankly, I don’t know if I could go through this if I had breast cancer.  But seeing him fight this battle has truly inspired me to embrace his attitude.  We’ve grown closer and know that “we” are fighting breast cancer together.  As a team we can beat anything.

People ask me, how am I doing?  Now I’m asking all the spouses who have lived through their spouse’s breast cancer, how are you doing? 

Until later,

Linda

About six weeks ago my husband was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Several months prior to the diagnosis he noticed a slight discoloration of his left breast and a small lump.  I didn’t even notice anything until about two months later when I saw that his nipple was inverted.  I knew we had to see the doctor right away.  In 2005 the American Cancer Society estimated that there was over 1,600 cases of breast cancer in men and that approximately over 450 of those cases would result in death.  Breast cancer in men accounts for around 1% of all known breast cancers.  Historically breast cancer in men is found in men 60 years old and older.  My husband just turned sixty.

Since his diagnosis the past six weeks has been hectic with doctor appointments, surgery and more doctor appointments.  The surgeon did a biopsy of the area and confirmed the breast cancer.  He performed a mastectomy about a month ago and removed his left breast, ten lymph nodes and some muscle tissue.  When the pathology report came back negative on the removed lymph nodes, we celebrated!  You have to celebrate good news when you have cancer. 

From that moment on we had to learn new terminology and start making decisions on the best treatment to beat his breast cancer.  The oncologist told us that his breast cancer was a stage 2A which means the size of the cancer was 3.2 cm; intermediate in grade; his hormone receptors were positive and he had negative HER2.  Approximately 85% of all male breast cancers are positive for hormone receptors.

We learned that the best treatment for male breast cancer is both a mastectomy and follow up with adjuvant therapy.  This type of therapy works very well in women and as our oncologist told us that he has found it works just as well in men.  Adjuvant therapy involves both chemotherapy plus tamoxifen which is a hormone therapy that is taken for five years after chemotherapy.  His chemotherapy is one session every three weeks for a total of 4 sessions in all.  With the adjuvant therapy the success rate is approximately 86% which means this is a high probability to cure the breast cancer.  Many types of cancers are treatable but the important word is “cured” and that’s the word we wanted to hear.

We now take one day at a time and know that the chemotherapy may be difficult for him.  I was hesitant to write this article but I knew that so little is known about male breast cancer and felt this was the best way to get the word out.  Women if you love your men insist that they have annual physicals and if a lump is found get treatment right away.  Breast cancer in the early stages is curable; don’t let it go until it’s only treatable.  I also found that Montel Williams and Richard Roundtree of “Shaft” also had breast cancer and were cured.

I’m planning to write more on this especially through the chemotherapy.  I want to be honest about this treatment and hopefully give some comfort to those of you who have breast cancer.  Let me know if you have gone through chemo and how you and your loved ones were able to cope with breast cancer.

Until later,

Linda