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(Copyright, The Times Mirror Company, Los Angeles
Times, 1992, All Rights Reserved)
When Mary Arndt learned she had breast cancer, she knew what to expect.
After all, her husband, Allen, had undergone a mastectomy just two years
earlier.
The Arndts are a medical phenomenon. Not only did Mary and Allen Arndt
both develop breast cancer, but both are considered cured after five years
without recurrence.
"My doctor said I was one in a million," Allen Arndt, 70, said
matter-of-factly. "I guess it's pretty rare."
About 1,000 cases of male breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United
States this year, up 11% from 1991,
according to the American Cancer Society. Nearly one-third of those with
the disease die from it.
By comparison, an estimated 180,000 American women will learn they have
breast cancer this year. More than one-fourth of them will die.
With those figures, the Arndts consider themselves lucky. So does their
doctor, who has treated just two cases of male breast cancer-and no other
cases involving both a husband and a wife-in the nine years he has
practiced medicine.
"It's extremely rare," said Dr. Cary Kaufman, a surgeon at Long
Beach Memorial Medical
Center. "I've never heard
of another couple developing and being cured of breast cancer. And I doubt
if I'd find another case in medical literature."
The Arndts' case began in November, 1983, when Allen Arndt, a retired
dairy worker, noticed a dime-size lump on his left nipple. Not wanting to
alarm his wife, who was planning a trip out of state, he kept his discovery
a secret.
Though little had been written about male breast cancer, Arndt was
suspicious.
"I knew what (the lump) was," he said.
When his wife returned home two weeks later, Arndt broke the news to
her.
"I was shocked when he showed it to me," said Mary Arndt, 72,
a retired nurse. "It was good-sized."
At his wife's insistence, Arndt called Dr. Kaufman, who insisted on
examining him the same day.
"He did a biopsy that day," Allen Arndt said. "He called
that night and said it was cancer."
Just six days after the biopsy, Arndt underwent a modified radical
mastectomy at Long Beach Memorial
Medical Center.
During the procedure, his left breast, including the nipple and the lymph
nodes under his arm, were removed. He remained in the hospital five days.
Minor infections followed, but the worst was over. Neither radiation nor
chemotherapy was required.
Because it's so rare, breast cancer in men has been difficult to study.
What is known, however, is that the disease, which was first recognized
during the 14th Century, usually appears in the form of a painless lump
located near the nipple, where breast tissue is concentrated. The average
age of men who develop breast cancer is 65.
Because the male breast is comparatively small, cancer can spread to
adjoining tissues much more readily than in the female breast. It often
spreads to nearby tissue before it is diagnosed because men usually wait
longer than women before consulting a physician-either hoping the lump will
disappear or denying the possibility that they may have breast cancer,
according to the National Institutes of Health.
It is not known what causes the disease but it has been linked to
advancing age, heredity, excessive weight and prior serious injury to the
breast. As with breast cancer in women, prompt diagnosis and treatment of
male breast cancer are essential.
Studies have shown that men who develop the disease often display
abnormal hormonal activity. Some researchers believe that use of the female
hormone estrogen to treat prostate cancer may be linked to the development
of breast cancer in some patients.
"I look at breast cancer as one big disease, not a male or female
disease," said Rosemarie Hanisch, a nurse epidemiologist for the USC
Department of Preventive Medicine. "It is clear that in females it is
hormone-related. It may be hormone related in men too."
In 1988, Hanisch and five other investigators published the results of a
comprehensive study on male breast cancer. Arndt's case was one of 75
examined.
Excessive weight in early adulthood was the only statistically
significant risk factor identified. Increased weight may translate to
increased levels of estrogen and a greater threat of breast cancer, the
researchers suggested.
But Hanisch said anyone is susceptible to breast cancer: "With men,
we don't have much to go by. But it seems reasonable that it develops
similarly in women and men."
After his mastectomy, Arndt was examined by doctors every three months
for five years. After five years without recurrence, Arndt was considered
cured. He continues to be examined twice a year and undergoes mammography
every two years.
When asked whether he experienced any embarrassment over having suffered
from a predominantly female disease or over having mammograms, Allen Arndt
shook his head.
"It never bothered me," he said.
His wife smiled.
"Every time he has a mammogram I ask him how they do it," she
said. "But he won't tell me."
In December, 1985, the disease revisited the couple. This time Mary
Arndt discovered a lump on her left breast.
"It was a large lump, and I knew what it was," she said.
As he did with Allen Arndt two years earlier, Kaufman wasted no time in
treating Mary. He did a segmented mastectomy, removing just the tumor and
lymph nodes, and prescribed radiation therapy. Doctors have considered her
cured since 1990.
"I couldn't believe it at first," Kaufman said of discovering
that Mary Arndt also had breast cancer. "I thought, `Is it something
in the food, in the water, or what?' "
He said the Arndts acted typically in selecting their treatment plans.
Some women feel that breasts are important to their self-esteem, and Mary
Arndt elected to keep hers. Her husband opted for removal of his breast,
including the affected nipple.
Today, the Arndts remain free of cancer. They are confident they have
beaten a dreaded killer and have maintained their sense of dignity-and
humor-throughout the ordeal.
"We dared each other to ever get it again," Mary Arndt said.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Copyright
2005 Los Angeles Times
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