Men can get breast cancer, too; Salem Health nurse thanks Cancer Center for thoughtful treatment plan
Bernie Nichols, RN, is a professional development specialist for surgical services at Salem Health. Late last spring, the nurse started experiencing pain on the left side of his chest.
“I did an assessment on myself, and I’m like, that’s weird, I’ve got a lump that I can feel,” Nichols said.
Nichols first went through imaging — that’s when he realized his case may be unusual. According to the American Cancer Society, less than one percent of all breast cancer occurs in men.
“They’re wearing the pink gloves, everything is pink, I’m getting the mammogram,” he said. “They walk me down the hallway and there’s all these fancy bras on the wall, and I joked, ‘I see you guys focus on men, too.’”
Salem Health Cancer Center treatment
During the imaging process, providers found a tumor. Nichols was then referred to Patricia Luckeroth, MD, at the Salem Health Cancer Center for a lumpectomy.
“When she did the lumpectomy, I was engaged to get married in July, and I said, well what does that look like? Am I going to have a surgical incision and a drain? I’m supposed to swim with the dolphins on our honeymoon,” Nichols said.
The nurse planned to honeymoon in Mexico after his wedding in late July.
“They actually bumped me up on the schedule to get me in a week sooner, did the surgery and Dr. Luckeroth said, ‘We’ll try to do this without a drain, but if we have a drain, then there’s no swimming,’” he said. “And she said she’d send me on my honeymoon with a whole bunch of dressings so hopefully no water gets in there.”
Nichols got married with dressings under his tuxedo, and ultimately was able to swim with the dolphins on his honeymoon.
A rare diagnosis
Three weeks after his honeymoon, he received a rare breast cancer diagnosis in his left chest — intraductal carcinoma.
Nichols’ options were another lumpectomy with chemotherapy and radiation, or a mastectomy. Not wanting to risk it, he scheduled the mastectomy for late summer.
“Being a nurse, we always go to the worst extremes, right?” Nichols said. “I’ve got a sniffly nose? Well, I’ve got COVID, and I’ll be dead next week. That’s what nurses do to ourselves.”
However, Nichols is happy to report he’s now in remission and checks in with Dr. Luckeroth every six months for the next five years.
This August the Cancer Center is connecting patients to a three-day fly-fishing trip for men who survived cancer, and Nichols said he looks forward to connecting with others there.