Friend Diagnosed With Breast Cancer.

[Jenarry]

A close friend gave the news to us last week that after feeling not well for some months and having tests done he has been diagnosed with breast cancer. we are so devastated for him and his partner and family .
I wasn't even aware that men could get breast cancer. He is in his early forties .
He will be starting a chemotherapy treatment in a few weeks. He is playing it all down and saying he will be fine. but he also said there is something showing up in scans in his lungs and liver. What could this be- secondary cancer or something else?...

[Mamyalynne]

Sorry to hear about the news of your friend, a lot of people are still surprised that men can get breast cancer too, as to your other questions any answer on my part would be a guess and his oncologist is the best to advise.


I hope things go well for him , only a young man too.

[Buenchico]

There's some general information here:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-breast-male/Pages/Introduction.aspx

However his reference to problems in his lungs and his liver does suggest that the cancer may well have reached 'stage 4', which would mean that the chemotherapy is only being used to help prolong his life, rather than with any real hope of a cure.

I hope that Sqad might be able to say I'm wrong but I fear that he won't.

[Sqad]

Unusual, very unusual, but it does occur.
I can add nothing useful to the above posts and agree with all the comments of Buenchico.

[waterboatman]

I'll go along with that.

[murraymints]

afraid to say the prognosis is not good when secondaries show in liver.... OH has just lost a friend this way very shortly after diagnosis..so sorry....

[Jenarry]

oh no. That was my fear. My husband was saying he said, 'he's going to fine after his treatment' and that the liver and lung thing might be something else but I was thinking this isn't good.
Also he was diagnosed 10 days ago but he's waiting until after a family holiday to start his treatment at the very end of august. ..while i would have thought they should be getting on with it straight away .does this mean that its just to prolong instead of actually treat. :( he is only 41 years old. :(

[Zacs-Master]

That's already been stated, and agreed with by our resident surgeon I'm afraid 'which would mean that the chemotherapy is only being used to help prolong his life'

He may well know it's his last holiday with his family and has delayed the Chemo to keep it as normal as possible.

So sad, especially at that age.

[murraymints]

was only 6 weeks for OH's friend.....Zac may well be right..knows his days are numbered....so very sad....

[EDDIE51]

I have commented on here about my friend who is in a similar situation. He had a Whipple procedure for cancer which initially seemed to have been successful. But just a few weeks later it was confirmed that the cancer had spread to almost every organ in his body. He has now been given just weeks to live, all the more poignant as less than 9 months ago he was unaware of any problem at all.

[Peter Pedant]

I am extremely sorry to hear this
2% . ( one in fifty cancers of the breast are in men)

I agree with BC and Sqad -
but hey !
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer-in-men/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html

has stage 4 survival at 20% ( five years )

which is kinda better than mine ( relapsed lymphoma without transplant)

[Peter Pedant]

Edd - your friend has a particularly lethal cancer ( Pancreas )
and this is less - and a different place
The vast majority (80%) of planned whipples procedures are cancelled because they are found to have spread - your friend was unlucky. ( deemed fit when he wasnt)

don't give up hope yet !

[Peter Pedant]

// That's already been stated, and agreed with by our resident surgeon // but not oncologist - come on! come on!

I was diagnosed 2012 ( 3 mo after retirement actually) relapsed 2015 and am disease free so far ( NHL)

[murraymints]

keep well PP xx