Man diagnosed with breast cancer shares story for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
KDVR Fox 31
WELD COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — David Dudak and his wife Clara are enjoying life in their RV and spending part of the year here in Colorado. But it's been a tough couple of years.
In 2017, David was diagnosed with breast cancer and sought treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
He said years ago he found a lump in his breast and his nipple was inverted. He said his doctors at the time were not concerned, and by the time he was diagnosed a few years later, he was already Stage 3 and needed extensive treatment.
"A complete mastectomy, they removed 62 lymph nodes because it had spread to the lymph nodes, six months of chemo and then 30 sessions of radiation," David said.
According to the American Cancer Society about 1% of breast cancers are diagnosed in men.
"I didn't know any men with breast cancer," said Clara, David's wife. "It's easy to miss because our society doesn't think that way."
Now David talks to other men to raise awareness.
"I ask them, 'When was the last time you had a breast exam?' and you know what the answer is. I have yet to find a man who has, but they should," he said.
Doctors agree. "Men should be doing self-breast exams just as much as women," said Dr. Kayla Griffith, a breast cancer specialist at HCA HealthONE Rose.
She said men should report any changes to their breasts to their doctor, and look out for things like lumps, rashes or nipple inversions.
"Because it's so uncommon, in general, they tend to be far more progressed when they get diagnosed because men aren't expecting to get breast cancer," she said.