Infection Control - St. Joseph Medical Center

Oncology
Like Mother
Like Son?
Male Breast Cancer Survivor
Every year on Cancer Survivors Day, St. Joseph’s Cancer
Institute celebrates with a reunion at an Orioles game,
and one cancer survivor throws out the first pitch. This
year, with more than 650 survivors, their families and staff
present, a breast cancer patient had the honor, which
means that a woman tossed out the ball—right? Wrong!
Mike Nelsen, age 49, a breast cancer survivor and director of Sales
at McCormick & Company, was the ceremonial pitcher.
In November 2008, Nelsen noticed a small bump on his
right breast. His internist referred him to Dr. Michael Schultz,
director of The Breast Center at St. Joseph. A biopsy was
positive. About one percent of all breast cancers occur to men.
During his long, successful career, Schultz has treated about
30 men with the disease.
Get it done
Though Nelsen may have what most
consider a woman’s disease—annually
about 190,000 women contract breast
cancer compared to 1,900 men—he
had a man’s reaction. “I was quite
surprised, but it is what it is. I wasn’t
devastated. I knew we had to get the job
done,” Nelsen said. His disease
“was treated along the same paradigms as female breast cancer,”
said Schultz. By December, Nelsen had undergone a full mastectomy
and removal of some lymph nodes, done by Schultz.
St. Joseph’s Breast Center provides comprehensive conveniences
for diagnosis and care under one roof. A multidisciplinary
conference gathers all the experts together to plan treatment; a
nurse navigator guides patients through the journey. Nelsen’s next
step was chemotherapy. Once again, he encountered a rare situation;
a negative reaction to chemotherapy irritated his intestine.
In the genes?
So, The Breast Center arranged genomic testing of the tumor
to determine the probability of his cancer recurring. The test,
called Oncotype DX by Genomic Health, provided good news:
his cancer had a low chance of recurrence; he could be treated
without chemotherapy.
Now on a standard, five-year regimen of Tamoxifen therapy,
Nelsen joked, “Not only do I have a woman’s disease, I get hot
flashes too.”
“Mike is fortunate that we were able to utilize our multidisciplinary
approach to tailor his breast cancer treatment to his
particular tumor,” said Schultz.
Genetics could reveal more answers, so Nelsen is undergoing
genetic testing. His mother died of ovarian cancer, after having
breast cancer in her 40s and melanoma in her 50s. His aunt had
ovarian cancer. His 23-year-old daughter is already watchful and
had a mammogram. “It seems like it runs in our family, but we
don’t really have verification,” said Nelsen, who also has a twoyear-old
adopted daughter.
But, he doesn’t spend any time dwelling on ‘why me?’
“I’m generally healthy. It’s just a weird occurrence,” he reflected.
“It creates a lot of awareness among my male friends.”
‰ Male Breast Cancer
• Usually occurs between ages 60–70
• Risks include exposure to radiation,
family history or high estrogen levels
• Linked to cirrhosis or an extra X
chromosome (known as Klinefelter’s
syndrome)
Genetic testing will help
Mike Nelsen’s older daughter
find out if she is at risk for
breast cancer.
Fall 2009 St. Joseph Medical Center / sjmcmd.org