YORK, Pa. — Although you don't often hear about it, men are not spared from getting breast cancer. While the tumors and treatments are similar, there is one major difference: the number of cases.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women, second only to skin cancer – but breast cancer threatens all genders.
One in 833 men will get breast cancer, compared to one in eight women.
"I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in the bathroom talking to my wife and I said- this bump showed up behind my nipple," said Casey Carr.
The York County resident was 36 years old with two young kids when he was diagnosed. "I said. 'I think it's just a cyst' and she said, 'Well, it could be breast cancer.' Being one of the uneducated, I said men can't get breast cancer and she said oh yes they can," he recalled.
Carr was diagnosed with Stage 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. He underwent six rounds of chemo, a complete mastectomy with 11 lymph nodes removed and radiation. "I had to go to Baltimore for 33 treatments of radiation back and forth every day for 33 days," he said.
From chemo to radiation, the treatments for men and women with breast cancer are similar.
Just ask Kim Buchar, who was diagnosed with stage 4 years ago while breastfeeding her 16-month-old son. "Instantly you're having a feeling of shock, like first denial, this isn't happening not me, I'm a healthy person, I barely drink, I'm a small person, I don't overindulge in anything and I've been healthy my whole life, what is going on?" Buchar said.
They each felt a similar sense of shock. "I didn't even know what to say, I didn't know what to think, I was numb for so long because it just didn't seem real," Casey said.
Buchar took her fear and turned it into a determination to fight. "I turned vegan, and I did all-natural everything in my home. I went into essential oils, I've been doing a lot of natural supplements, I take about 30 a day," she said.
Casey had his own "game" plan, taking on the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services to get the breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment program changed to include men as well – and they listened.
"I cried... I was the first male in Pennsylvania to be covered under that act," Carr recalled.
It was a huge win for the EMT, who didn't have health insurance when he was diagnosed... and leaving behind a legacy his kids will always remember.
"If I can't do anything more than you know, bring awareness to the fact that men can and will get breast cancer, then it's all worth it," he said.
**** Kim asks that if you know her kids not to say anything to them about seeing her mom on tv. They do not know about her illness. THANK YOU!!!