TAMPA, Fla. — Mark Larsen’s voice might sound familiar to you.
He spent decades on the radio in Tampa, hosting his own talk show before he said things got heavily political on the airwaves.
“In the '90s, it was general talk. Everybody was invited to the table,” Larsen said.
Retired life has been great for Larsen until July, when a day after playing golf, he felt what he thought was a pulled chest muscle.
“I took some ibuprofen for a couple of days, and when that subsided, it consolidated right here, and I felt a lump. And it was about the size of a ping pong ball,” Larsen said.
Larsen went to the internet for answers and thought maybe he just had a cyst. But it didn’t go away.
He also has a family history of cancer, so Larsen went to his doctor.
“She booked me for a mammogram, and that’s all she wrote. I had a breast tumor. Stage 2," he said.
Dr. John Kiluk specializes in breast cancer at Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center. He said only 1% of breast cancer cases are men.
“I think most people don’t think that’s a possibility because guys don’t have breasts," Kiluk said. "But actually, there is breast tissue there, and that can develop breast cancer."
The BRACA gene mutation known to cause breast cancer runs in Larsen's family. He and his brother both have it.
“We never gave it a second thought because we are guys," he said. "When you are pulling up all these testimonials online, the guys are saying, 'Yeah, I thought I might have it, but I’m a guy I’m not going to get it.'"
Kiluk said patients struggle with more than just the physical aspects.
“I think emotionally, male patients can have a hard time when they see all the pink ribbons, and obviously, breast cancer is more associated as a female cancer," he said. "So sometimes my guys have a more challenging time with that. But we do work through it, and they do well with it."
Larsen has already had a double mastectomy. Five months of chemotherapy come next.
His breast cancer is the most common, called invasive ductal carcinoma.
“The oncologist I have, I have a great team. And she is sure she is going to cure me," Larsen said. "Because my question was, 'We do all of this surgery, all of this chemotherapy, and then what? It’s just going to show up someplace else?' And she said, 'No, I’m going to cure you.'"
The American Cancer Society said to watch for lumps, skin dimpling, nipple retraction, redness, or discharge from the nipple.
Doctors say men need to know their bodies, and if something changes or doesn’t feel right, get it checked out.
“There’s virtually no awareness for men, and men need to be aware of this because it can be fatal,” Larsen said.
