The VMU provides a safe place and focus.

Hi,

I am Richard originally from Essex but have been living on Merseyside for the last 27 years. I am a retired accountant living with my wife. The nest is now empty, we have 3 children and 4 grandchildren.

Late in 2015, when I was 58, I was diagnosed with stage 2 ductal carcinoma. I had a mastectomy and 3 lymph nodes were removed (which were clear) so I did not need to have radiotherapy or chemotherapy. I was however prescribed Tamoxifen, a hormone blocker, to which I had a bad reaction resulting in pulmonary embolisms.  I then spent 6 months taking blood thinners to prevent reoccurrence.

I consider myself lucky to have got away so lightly when my diagnosis could have been a whole lot worse. For me it is all about trying to give something back and to help others who perhaps were not as lucky as me. Initially I started getting involved with the charity Walk the Walk, completing The Moonwalk and attending their first Male Breast Cancer awareness event in 2017. I also gave a couple of talks for Macmillan about my cancer journey. I became a telephone buddy for Macmillan, which at the start of Covid migrated from being a Male breast cancer Buddy to covering all cancers because they were no longer able to provide face to face support. Having joined the Mens online support group (The Men's VMU) I linked up with Breast Cancer Now through one of their representatives who was invited to talk to the group. I subsequently trained for Breast Cancer Now’s Someone Like Me support program.

A cancer diagnosis is a difficult problem to get your head around. Cancer has a dark history and not so long ago it wasn’t talked about as openly as it is today. It was the beginning of the end for most, so was often referred to as the ‘big C’. only recent medical advancements have made cancer more treatable and improved outcomes. The issue for men with a diagnosis of breast cancer is very much related to it still being seen as a woman’s disease.

As a group, The Men’s VMU not only provides a safe place for men to meet other men who have had a diagnosis of breast cancer, but it also provides a focus, where we can try to influence those funding and performing breast cancer research, to include, wherever possible, the male perspective.

Regards

Richard