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Bill's Battle: May 24, 2004

My breast cancer was diagnosed a couple of months ago, and I've been undergoing treatment ever since. Like most men, I discovered mine completely by accident -- or providence.

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Women are constantly reminded of the dangers of breast cancer, the need to do self-exams and to get regular mammograms. But male breast cancer is so rare that fewer than 1 percent of the cases involve men.

It's most often discovered unintentionally. In my case, one of my dogs stepped on the lump while we were wrestling around. It hurt!

But the first doctor I showed it to passed it off as something called "gynecomastia" -- little buttons of breast tissue which sometimes show up in middle-aged men.

But rather than demand further tests, I accepted the diagnosis and endangered my life because a year later I felt the lump again -- and it was twice the size!

So, after a lumpectomy revealed that the tumor was malignant and invasive, I had a mammogram and an ultrasound to determine the extent and I learned I would need much more extensive and radical treatment.

-Bill


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