Even men can't escape breast cancer battle
For a Brainerd lakes area family, the familiar pink color associated with breast cancer awareness is tinged with blue as mother and son share an uncommon bond.
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Both have faced the diagnosis of breast cancer.
On Saturday a team at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at Forestview Middle School in Baxter wore blue hats to support Pam Knutson's son Brad and to raise awareness about male breast cancer.
Breast cancer in men is rare. Susan G. Komen for the Cure reports about 2,030 men will be diagnosed and about 450 will die of the disease in 2007. Because a small percentage of men will get breast cancer, early detection is a challenge.
Brad Knutson, Lake Edward, and his mother, Pam Knutson, Baxter, share an uncommon bond as breast cancer survivors. The two were part of Brad's Team, which had about 30 members, in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Saturday morning at Forestview Middle School in Baxter. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Brad Knutson felt a small lump on his chest. It was about the size of pea at first. He never even thought about the possibility of breast cancer. Many months went by. When doctors first checked the mass, they thought Brad, then 38, was too young for cancer and the lump was more than likely nothing to worry about. But when his nipple retracted, that was a definite sign something more serious was going on beneath the surface. A biopsy confirmed the cancer.
Surgery, hormonal therapies and chemotherapy followed. The cancer returned in 2005. Another tumor deep in muscle tissue beneath Brad's arm was removed. But doctors discovered the cancer had metastasized to his lung and another tumor was beneath his collar bone. Another round of chemotherapy and experimental drugs followed.
"You just wake up every day and keep going on," Brad said.
Homing pigeons were released before the start of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Saturday at Forestview Middle School. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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He's hoping for at least 10 more good years, saying he has an 8-year-old he wants to see through high school.
Brad's mom said if she had known about the lump she would have taken him to a specialist immediately. Pam felt a lump in her breast a year before she was diagnosed in 1998. The lump didn't show up on a mammogram but it grew. Pam felt she could almost feel the tissue expanding. She went to the doctor before her expected annual exam time to have it checked. Even then the lump barely registered on the mammogram. Instead of waiting longer to see if there would be a change in her next mammogram, she sought out a needle biopsy. It confirmed the cancer and actually two tumors lined up one behind the other. She was 58 at the time.
Now mother and son are well-versed in the latest medical information about breast cancer and how it relates to genetics and about cutting edge treatments. Pam said the first man she heard talk about having breast cancer was actor Richard Roundtree. Her family also was acquainted with a young man in his early 20s who died of breast cancer.
Rachel Pietruszewski (left) Carole Jenks and Kathy Kossila of the Red Hot Ladies from Upper South Long Lake warmed up before the race. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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While fewer men then women will get breast cancer, Pam said it is more deadly in men because they don't suspect they have it and may not realize they can even get it.
"That's something I would like to change," she said. "We need to come out of the woodwork to get this out there. It's the awareness, the awareness that men are susceptible to this disease.
If they don't know they cannot go in and be checked out in time.
"But if men can get it taken care of as soon as they find a lump it doesn't have to end up this way so we are hoping some good can come out of our experience with it."
Runners lunged off the starting line in the 5K race. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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In pink survivor's T-shirt and wearing a blue hat emblazoned with Brad's Team, Brad participated in the Komen Race for the Cure for the first time Saturday. He marveled at the number of people at the event. Brad, who lives on the north side of Lake Edward, wasn't able to attend last year because of chemotherapy treatments. He said for men one of the difficult things is that there is not enough data or statistics yet. For other men he offered this advice.
"If you find something don't hesitate to go in," he said. Hearing about men with breast cancer is now a lot more common than when he was first diagnosed seven years ago, he said.
Walkers headed away from the starting line. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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As for himself, Brad said: "You do your treatment and do what you can, hope for the best and away you go."
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.