Grandpa underwent a mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer

A grandfather of two underwent a mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Mike Burrows needed surgery after finding a lump in his chest.

Now she urges men to swallow their “pride pill” and call for help for their health. And he said if he hadn’t acted quickly when he found the lump in his chest, he “probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now”.

Just weeks after retiring last year, Mike, from Ashbourne, Derbyshire, discovered what felt like a pea-sized lump “on (her) right side breast” while showering. The now 69-year-old said he “didn’t do anything” at first, because he thought it might be temporary swelling.

A week later, she realized the lump was still there and decided to call her doctor. After explaining everything “very regretfully” to the receptionist and saying, “probably nothing”, Mike was booked for a GP appointment the following day, and he was then referred to Royal Derby Hospital for further examination and a biopsy.

“Before I did the biopsy, I didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Mike. It suddenly dawned on me when I got to the door and it said: ‘Breast Clinic’ – and as I walked through the door, I was the only man in there, and I thought: ‘I’m beyond my means here’. ”

Following a biopsy – in which a small sample of tissue is taken for examination – Mike was notified on October 25, 2022 that he had breast cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, less than 1% of breast cancers in the UK are found in men, and Mike said he and his wife Jackie, a 62-year-old paramedic, were “shocked” by the news.

He said: “I was just staring at the floor in the consulting room. I just didn’t know what to say, nothing came out of my mouth.

“You’ve reached 68 years old, and you think that you’ve lived life unscathed, and suddenly, you get something like this. It took my breath away.

Mike underwent a mastectomy – the surgical removal of breast tissue – on November 28, which confirmed he had stage 2 breast cancer. This was followed by five radiotherapy sessions in March, which left him feeling exhausted.

While Mike had received the “all clear”, he felt there was a lack of awareness surrounding male breast cancer, as it is “rare” – and this was evident during his time at the hospital, where he saw most of the signs and literature. is “aimed at women”. Still, he hopes his story will encourage more men to come forward and seek help if they notice something isn’t right.

“The treatment I received from the NHS was absolutely amazing,” said Mike. “They guided me through it; I am completely out of water, a man with breast cancer… but right now, I just want to make sure that people out there try and swallow this pill of pride.

“This is the old thing that gets thrown around, that men don’t act on something that is wrong, they don’t pick up the phone and call the doctor. But if I can get at least one male to go to the doctor and get checked out, then that would make me really happy because I think there are a lot of guys out there who don’t.”

According to the NHS, breast cancer is often thought of as something that only affects women, but men can be diagnosed with the disease in rare cases. It grows in a small amount of male breast tissue behind the nipple, and usually occurs in men over the age of 60.

Mike’s diagnosis follows finding a lump in his chest while he is in the shower, although DNA tests reveal he does not have “a single cancer gene in his body”. She underwent a mastectomy to remove the lump and nearby lymph nodes on November 28, and during a pre-operative consultation, she had to “go into a separate room before being taken to the surgical ward”.

It was during her stay in the hospital that she noticed that most of the literature on breast cancer was aimed at women and, because her ward was all women, she said it was “alienating” at times. At this point, I was bombarded with a lot of literature, which was great… but there was only one brochure that said ‘breast cancer in men’,” she said.

“All the diagrams and information doesn’t keep in mind that this can happen to men.” He added: “I’m a strong person, mentally, but a lot of men probably sit there and think: ‘I can’t handle this, I’m in a women’s circle, I’m in a boob clinic and everybody’s going to be wondering. why am I here’.”

Mike was left with scars running down his chest and down his right arm, but he says the procedure was successful because the results were “everything clear”. She then underwent five radiotherapy sessions in March this year and was prescribed tamoxifen tablets – a hormone therapy drug to treat breast cancer – which she will take for the next five years.

Mike said he could still feel the effects of radiotherapy, as it was “burning the flesh inside” of his chest, but he realized “how lucky” he was – and he is glad he acted immediately after finding the lump. “Was it luck? Or is it just common sense? I don’t know,” said Mike.

“But I look back now and I think, I’m glad I had the sense to do something because, otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

Mike’s wife, Jackie, will be taking part in Pink Ribbon Walk’s Breast Cancer Now on July 8, where she will walk 20 miles with a group of friends to help fund life-changing research and support. Mike said he was “proud” that he took on the challenge, and he hopes, by sharing his story, he can raise awareness of male breast cancer and encourage more men to seek help.

“If more men follow through, maybe we can stop male cancer later in life,” he said. “Men just need to realize that, if something goes wrong or they notice a change, don’t just think: ‘Oh, this will go away next week,’ because it probably won’t. If I do that, mine won’t disappear.

To find out more about Breast Cancer Now’s Pink Ribbon Walk, visit: www.breastcancernow.org/ribbonwalk