Border Telegraph | News | 'I'm glad I went for a check-up when I did or I wouldn't be here today'

Friday, 25th July, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 19th March, 2008 10:00

'I'm glad I went for a check-up when I did or I wouldn't be here today'

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Andy Darling doesn't think enough research has been done on the treatment's side-effects on men.

BREAST cancer does not only affect women.

Andy Darling (40), from Galashiels, is one of around 320 men in Britain who are diagnosed with the disease each year.

He discovered a lump under his nipple and only went to his doctor after his mother nagged him five years ago.

But now the well-known music promoter, who was involved with the former Bond’s nightclub in Galashiels and Angus O’Malley’s Sports Bar in Selkirk, is on a mission to raise awareness of the disease because he believes his ignorance almost killed him.

Speaking to the Border Telegraph, Andy said: “I’m glad I went for the check-up when I did because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.

“I was lying in bed one night and felt this bump, about the size of a pea. I would fiddle about with it and noticed it was getting bigger.

“I thought it was a blocked duct or something, but my mum kept telling me to go and get it checked out, so I did.

“At first the doctor told me it was probably nothing.

“But when the results came back and I found out I had grade three, which isn’t aggressive, though it had spread into four or five lymph glands.”

While the numbers of men affected by breast cancer are relatively low in comparison to cases amongst women (around 44,000 each year), there has been a recent rise in cases of the disease in men aged under 60.

It is often the case that men do not realise they can develop breast cancer because they don’t think of themselves as having breasts.

So if they feel a lump behind the nipple area it is very often ignored…until it’s too late.

Now Andy, who underwent a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, has issued an urgent appeal to men of all ages to get checked by the doctor if they feel anything unusual.

“I lost all my hair and didn’t feel too great, but I had a relatively quick recovery – I went in on Tuesday and by Friday I was playing basketball again,” he said.

“I feel really bad for women who go through chemotherapy because if you’re a guy you can just shave your head and you’ll look alright - unless you’ve got a head like a pineapple - but for women they immediately stand out.”

While the reasons men get breast cancer are not completely understood, older men with high oestrogen levels or those who have family members with the disease are thought to be more at risk.

But because breast cancer is so rare amongst men, sufferers find booklets can very often be geared towards women.

Now Andy, who continues to receive treatment at the Borders General Hospital, has been approached by cancer care specialists Maggie’s Centre to write a book about his experiences.

He said: “If I’m honest, I do worried about the side-effects on men because I don’t think enough research has been done as there are obviously so few cases.

“Obviously there are a lot more women who get breast cancer, so it makes sense that the medications and books are aimed at them.

“In the past I have read stuff that advises you to wear a bra in bed if you’re in pain or about the possibility of early menopause.”

Andy added: “Maggie’s Centre does such a fantastic job looking after people following their treatments, that I wanted to give something back.”

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