Jeff’s Story
"If you look at me with my shirt off, it’s quite incredible. You can still see the mastectomy scar but my chest looks the same as the other side. Emotionally, I’m super glad that I did it."
When Jeff was diagnosed with Stage 3c breast cancer, he didn’t even know men could develop the disease, let alone have breast reconstruction.
“I felt a lump, but I’d had lipomas removed in the past. So, I assumed it was a lipoma, not even knowing then males could get breast cancer.”
Jeff’s wife urged him to get it checked, regardless. Initially, he refused, insisting that he was not interested in having every lump on his body checked. Months later, on a trip to the beach in Florida, the lump’s increasing prominence became hard to ignore. When his nipple began to invert, Jeff listened to his spouse. He credits her with his life.
“I took off my shirt, and my wife said, ‘your left nipple is inverting. You’re going to the doctor.’ So, I went to a breast surgeon who said there’s a 99-percent chance that this is nothing, but I have to biopsy it. He did the biopsy and it was cancer.”
Less than one percent of all breast cancer diagnoses are found in men. According to Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the odds of male breast cancer are one in 726. However, that metric varies heavily based on factors like genetic profile and certain types of exposure. Jeff’s position in this rare situation can be traced back to the latter risk factor: he was exposed to harmful fumes in the wake of 9/11.
Jeff underwent a left breast mastectomy with lymph node dissection. His surgeon chose to take his nipple as well to mitigate the risk of recurrence. Pathology revealed that thirty-four of thirty-five lymph nodes were malignant. He underwent extensive radiation that burnt his fair skin.
After treatment, he lamented his half-concave chest in a world full of people who did not understand why he would want to be reconstructed. Practitioners encouraged him to think of his altered chest as a “battle scar.” Peers believed that breast reconstruction was only for women.
Finally, a neighbor recommended a plastic surgeon who had worked on men prior. Jeff went in for a consultation, where he saw pictures of several male breast reconstructions. He decided to have natural tissue reconstruction on the affected side with nipple areola reconstruction. He was confident in his decision, even amid ongoing pushback.
“I told one of my peers that I was going in for the procedure and he was like ‘are going to get a brazier after that?’ Until you go through it and you know what it’s like, you don’t know. I didn’t want to look at that for the rest of my life, not having a nipple and not having a breast. I would never take my shirt off at the beach because I felt freakish, and now I don’t. I feel much better about myself, I really do.”
Jeff had initially planned to undergo DIEP flap breast reconstruction. However, an abdominal hernia precluded his candidacy for the procedure at the last second. His surgeon suggested a LD flap instead. The procedure successfully restored Jeff’s chest and nipple and his confidence. While prior radiation left a significant, long-lasting scar, he remains happy with the overall result.
“If you look at me with my shirt off, it’s quite incredible. You can still see the mastectomy scar but my chest looks the same as the other side. Emotionally, I’m super glad that I did it. It’s not perfect, but then again, I had a left breast mastectomy. I look so much more normal, it’s a no brainer. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t get it done.”
Three years after his initial diagnosis, Jeff found another lump. The recurrence reflected Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Over a decade of successful treatment and maintenance later, he continues to advocate for male breast cancer patients.
“I’m still standing, I’ve had a couple of health issues, but nothing related to the cancer. “Having been through everything that I’ve been through, I stand up for myself, and if I want something done, I advocate, I ask. That’s really what you have to do with medicine.”