I am still a woman - Confessions of a twice cancer survivor - my journey by Nina Ann McCurley

MARK DOEL, an IT manager from Morden, Surrey, was fit and sporty when he was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago, aged 37. “The first thing I noticed was tiny blood spots on my sheets and shirts on the odd occasion – which went on for about a year. I wasn’t in pain but to put my mind at ease I went to see my GP who sent me home with plasters. He said it was likely to be rubbing from my shirt when I played badminton. A few months later, in June 2007, I was at a waterpark when a friend noticed I was bleeding quite a bit from my right nipple. I knew I needed to get a specialist opinion. He told me he didn’t think it could be cancer and was much more likely to be a condition like eczema, but they did an ultrasound scan which didn’t show anything sinister. I also had a tissue biopsy taken, but went home thinking it couldn’t be too worrying. When I returned for the biopsy results I saw my surgeon’s face and knew something was wrong. I was in shock, which is understandab...

UNEMPLOYED printer Doug, from Plumstead, south-east London, is halfway through his chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer in January. With a 21-month-old son and four daughters from a previous relationship, Doug says he wouldn’t wish the disease on his worst enemy. “Towards the end of last year I noticed a little lump in my left nipple. I assumed it was some kind of benign cyst which would work its way out of my system. It was only when my nipple inverted that my partner Sarah told me I had to get it checked out by my GP. I was referred to the breast care centre at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich where I had a mammogram . Trying to squeeze my breast into a machine designed for decidedly larger women’s breasts was certainly an effort! I genuinely thought men couldn’t get breast cancer so I managed to put the thought of the Big C to the back of my mind. My dad had died of cancer in his late 80s but there was no history of breast cancer in my family...

The Truth Quite the contrary. Each year it is estimated that approximately 1,700 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die. While this percentage is still small, men should also give themselves regular  breast self-exams  and note any changes to their physicians.