Judges and lawyers get lessons in the dangers of male breast cancer

April 19, 2017 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle

From left: Michael Singer, Roy Reardon and Dr. Clifford A. Hudis spoke at a JALBCA event on the dangers of male breast cancer that took place last week. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese

Share this:

Attorney Roy Reardon was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996, and despite living without cancer for years he admitted that any muscle ache or spasm gives him that dreaded feeling again — that his cancer could come back at any moment.

That’s why Reardon thought it was important to take part in the Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA) male breast cancer event held at Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett LLP in Manhattan last Thursday — to help to raise awareness of an issue that too many are still unfamiliar with.

“It’s not a nice picture,” Reardon said of male breast cancer. “There is surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Then there are drugs, years of drugs. It would be wonderful if you could take away that feeling so people wouldn’t just be survivors, but actually cancer free.”

Reardon was joined by Dr. Clifford A. Hudis, CEO of American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Michael Singer, a male breast cancer survivor and advocate with the Male Breast Cancer Coalition for a two-hour long discussion in front of dozens of lawyers and judges on Thursday night.

“I was surprised in finding I had breast cancer,” Reardon said. “I was just an average guy doing an average job in a law firm and suddenly I found myself facing a very serious problem. Fortunately for me, I found Cliff Hudis.”

Hudis pointed out that breast cancer is men is incredibly rare — he said there are roughly 2,500 cases per year in the U.S., as compared to the 240,000 per year involving women. This complicates things, Hudis said, because it creates a stigma among men and also makes it hard for doctors to research.

Its rarity also makes male breast cancer hard to screen for — although Hudis did point out the warning signs men — redness, swelling, dimpling or lumps in the nipple, discharge or swelling under the underarm.

Mike Singer found a lump on his breast. He explained that he was too embarrassed by it to even tell his doctor about it during a checkup, but after being called back to his doctor’s office he finally told him about it.

For months afterward, Singer still was reluctant to talk about having breast cancer and told co-workers that he was diagnosed with “chest cancer” instead. Finally, it took seeing founder of the Male Breast Cancer Coalition Bret Miller and Dr. Hudis on TV with Richard Roundtree, the actor who played John Shaft, that he could finally “come out of the closest.”

“When I saw them talking about male breast cancer on TV, I thought, ‘What the hell is wrong with me?’” Singer said. “Ever since that day, I have been tearing up male breast cancer advocacy. I give out the ribbons, I wear my pink Chuck Taylors with the blue laces and my journey has been all about it. I’m even a spokesperson for the Ford Motor Company’s Warriors in Pink, Models of Courage. I’m trying to get a little bit of blue into that sea of pink.”

Singer said that he wants to raise awareness of the issue to try to remove the stigma he said is still very much alive.