Breast Cancer In Men

Breast cancer is a disease most people think affects only women, but it can happen to men too.

According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, breast cancer will affect 22-hundred men in 2013.

“I’m a breast cancer survivor, yes, men can get it too,” said David Taylor a breast cancer survivor.

Taylor was diagnosed in 2006 at the age of 47 after he had neck surgery.

“I was admiring my scar one day and I thought no scar this is going to be awesome and then I felt a lump,” said Taylor.

One month later when he noticed the lump was still there, Taylor went to the doctor.

“I remember, is this how my life is going to end?” Said Taylor.

That morning in early December, Taylor found out he had stage 2 breast cancer.

“It was a very hard month of December that year,” said Taylor

Several weeks of scans and tests, he decided on his treatment choice.

“I had a mastectomy. For me it wasn’t the emotional trauma a woman must go through, I don’t ever remember that emotional trauma,” said Taylor.

It took two operations to get the cancer out, and the recovery was not easy.

“It’s not pretty, it’s not glamorous. You have a drain tube that’s attached to you. My wife would empty out the drain for me every three or four hours,” said Taylor.

He said the support from his wife and daughter was what helped him get through.

“They helped me survive,” said Taylor.

Nearly seven years after his diagnosis, being a cancer survivor still brings out the emotion.

“I’m grateful to be able to sit here and tell a story that others are not able to tell,” said Taylor

The top four most prevalent cancers for the state of Idaho are breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and skin cancer.