It's surprising how many people die from treatable disease because they're afraid to tell the doctor they think they're sick or they find a lump and they're afraid to get it tested. It's happening every day. Those especially at risk are men who are too macho to get tested for breast cancer.
"Breast cancer? In men? Isn't that a woman's disease?"
In these post 9/11 days, breast cancer is prevalent not just in women, but in men, too.The Firemen, emergency workers and even the civilians who were anywhere near the towers falling, are suddenly, especially at risk.
Male or female.
Because women seem to check their breast more often than men, they have the possibility to catch it earlier. The difficult thing when a man finds a lump in his breast is for him to go in and tell a doctor he thinks he's got breast cancer. Mammograms are just a "woman thing," right?To go and sit in a room full of women at a women's clinic could turn any steel-gutted man away.So let's take the onus off of being tested for breast cancer. There are many doctors, for example, Dr. Bard at the Bard Cancer Center, who will check men's pecs for any kind of disease. There's nothing to be ashamed of - there is no male or female testing, there is just a nondenominational sonogram.In fact, women who don't want radiation on their breasts (which is what a mammogram is) can also do the Bard sonogram. He has not just 3-D, but 4D sonograms. He can find the smallest lump, the smallest issue before it actually becomes a problem.
Dr. Robert Bard on E. 60th St. in NYC (see www.CancerScan.com).
He also has a site specific to first responders with links to male breast cancer diagnostics: www.911cancerscreening.com . He is probably the preeminent doctor when it comes to cancer testing. Skin cancer can be detected before you have to even biopsy it. Lymph nodes, liver, kidneys, pancreas - there is no part in the body too difficult for Dr. Bard to check. In fact, Dr. Bard is a sought after teacher and speaker about the use of sonograms in catching treatable cancers early.
So please, if you even think that you have an issue - don't be afraid to check it out and calm your nerves. And if it is something, catching it early can make all the difference.
Go see Dr. Bard - he wants to save your life.
(Not an advertisement. I am not paid to write this. I just want to save your life, too.)
