Thought you should know

Well Done Dave Hi David

Well done to you. Hope the dreaded \"male\" doesn\'t appear. I\'ve had great fights with them before about that. I\'ll look out for it though.

Take care

Bill

Great news Well done David and I hope it all goes really well for you.

I\'m still doin battle with my gaffers, but I hope to be in the fight shortly.

Well done, David Hiya David,
Just wanted to thank you for sharing your story with us. It\'s short and more importantly, as you say, to the point. I think it gets across that this blasted disease can affect anyone......regardless of age, race or gender.

Well done. Good health and best wishes. Marie

Dapper David!! Hi David

You\'re looking good on the stories. I agree - it\'s a real step foward and I hope may people read about you.

BUT I was expecting it to be in the Cancer Research UK website. Is that still to come?

Take care.

Bill

Well done David I also want to thank you for sharing your story with us. I hope by sharing it, you will help raise awareness that this bl**dy disease can affect anyone whatever gender they are.

Well done again, and all the best.

Jo.

breast cancer in Men Hi Elvina

I\'ve written this twice already and each time I\'ve called away and been \"timed\" out.

My position is this: both men and women have many common parts, breast are ones of these. Both men and women have breasts - albeit men\'s are rudimentary affairs.

When I was diagnosed I was immediatelt tagged with the term \"MALE\" breast cancer. At that time I wasn\'t too bothered about what I had. I was more concerned with how they were going to deal with it. I can tell you now that, unlike many men and women, I knew men could get breast cancer.

Anyway, in the course of treatment I was given many leaflets about breast cancer and, almost woithout exception, the leaflets were written for women and had a little add on saying something like \"Men can get breast cancer too.\" I\'m an acaemic and I am used to reading for weffect and I could ealiy take from the leaflets what I needed. However, my concern was that many other men might not be able to do that and they most likely were of a different generation - most men are elderly who get breast cancer.

But the most annoying part for me was the \"MALE\" tag. I wanted rid of it. It was bad enough having breast cancer never mind having \"MALE\" breast cancer. In the last year, my colleagues, fellowsufferes, have been involved in the production of a new resource for men which has now been publsihed. The tag \"male\" breast cancer is not mentioned. Taking the cue from BCC all the other major cancer charities have now ended the tag as well, finally recognising that men\'s breast cancer is the same as women\'s.

Our job now is to try and get men involved in clinical trials of drugs because they are developed for women and their effects are not cataogued yet when men are given them. We need to eudctae people to be aware of the no gender specific nature of the disease and hopefull through this combination end up with a cure rather than more treatmens and be mindful that the disease affects both sexes and that it causes very specific concerns for both and women - harking back to the physiological differences.

Hope this makes sense.

You take care and try and keep well.

best wishes

Bill

Losing it Hello Bill

Here is what i hope is a helpful suggestion. After the experience of losing a carefully worded gem I always now save the text of any response I am writing unless it is very brief. This way you can even go off-line and come back to start again.

Hi there Hi Bill.............I\'m writing.(SORRY TYPING!!!!!!) as a fellow Scot living in the South East, ......cos of the weather you understand!!...........I was diagnosed in August 2005 and think I\'m still in shock. I knew \"Male\" Breast Cancer existed, but never knew to what extent. I agree cancer shouldnt be segregated to male and female, after all we never say MALE heat attack and FEMALE heart attack. The powers that be insist that breast cancer is predomenanly female but as you say we all have similar bits so why is it a surprise to find that more males are getting on this roller coaster?...oh yes I never wore clarks shoes....always start rite cos they had skinnier shoes LOL........................is that my excuse???.......Would love to read your story so keep me posted

Love health and happiness........Morag

Breast Cancer in men Hi Bill,

Thank you so much for your response, about using the term \"male\" and breast cancer. You have made it much clearer for me. I was wondering if i could use your response on a website i have created, Your response could feature in an article about the term \'male\' and breast cancer.

Take care of yourself

Best wishes

Elvina

Clarks shoes!! Hi Morag

did I write something about Clarks shoes on this website? I was wondering if I had I usually tell people that\'s why I got breast cancer but I can\'t remember posting it here.

Maybe there\'s too much aluminium in the water!!

Take care - by the way it\'s really cold here now!!

Bill

Thanks for ageeing Hi Bill,
Thank you for allowing me to feature your comments on my website, it should feature on my website in a week or so.

My website is: www.sunflowerministries.org

Take care and Best wishes

Elvina

-me too carling......(AS IN LAGER??????????)..I knew nothing about male breast cancer til I got this dammed gremlin and joined a local suport group. but now I understand more about it........after all as bill says we all have the same rudimentary bits just that we use them differently now I am more interested in the disease I find that I am being nosey and asking more questions. I dont mean to be rude but I have to ask things cos if you dont ask you dont know etc!! anyway I must go...had a really bad day today very tearful and thought my lovely hubby didnt want me anymore turns out he was waiting for me to make a move, but to compensate he is taking us for a curry.(USED TO WORK!!) SO OFF i GO......HAVE A GOOD NIGHT WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING

awwwwwww Brian if you were closer you could have come for a curry..........we are pretty well known in the local Indians......but wait for it..............the chef trained in cafe creme in glasgow so I can ask for anything and he will make it.maybe one day you can come and visit........we\'ll go for a decent curry and a few beers......how does that sound?

Carling Hi Carling

Yes, most men with breast cancer have oestrogen receptor positive tumours and have to take hormone therapy after chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

My tumour was Oestrogen receptor positive and I now take ARIMIDEX as opposed to the more used tamoxifen. How I got that is another story.

But to answer your question about raised levels of oestorgen. All ther sensitive hormone tests they did on me did not show an abnormally high level. It was normal for the levels of oestrogen men should have.

So, a mystery. BUT most men who get breast cancer are elderly - nearly 70 - and causal things are havng a female relative with BC, being obese, having some sort of genetic fault and there are others. You can read them on this website in the resource for men with breast cancer.

In my case, I have four sisters and my mother who have never had a problem with their breats, I was 46 when | was diagnosed and it is a mystery to me why it came to me - as it is with many other people.

In all ways the BC I have is the same as the BC women have. There are many BC tumours and men can be affected by almost them all. The bad news is that women are far more predisposed to the disease thean men.

Because of the low numbers of men with the disease we are marginalised immediately in terms of research and treatment and information needs and by the heavy media exposure of BC being projected as a gender specific disease.

Those of us men, who care about this, are working towards BC being recognised as a disease that affects both men and women and that it is the same disease.

Hope this helps. let me know if I can answer any other questions.
Take care abd best wishes

Bill