HGV King – Interview 06

HGV King was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. He had a mastectomy and radiotherapy. He was offered reconstructive surgery or a tattooed nipple but chose to have neither. He then had tamoxifen.

HGV King was working as a lorry driver and was very physically fit. Whilst he was attending a routine medical in relation to his work, his GP asked him if there was anything else he wanted to discuss. He asked for a cream for his nipple which had been inverted for about 7 months. The GP referred him to the hospital for a scan and biopsy. He noticed a white dot on the monitor whilst he was having his scan and thought something might be wrong. He was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2007 and had his operation very quickly after diagnosis. He had radiotherapy over 3 weeks. He was looking after his young daughter then and had to take her with him to these appointments. He said he had had a fantastic surgeon and couldn’t fault the other staff.
He had good support from his children and his ex-wife, although he had felt let down by another family member and had become a bit of a recluse. He only had one friend locally that he could talk to, although he could talk to more distant friends on the phone. He had found it very difficult to tell his older children about his illness. This interview was one of the first in-depth one-one discussions he had had about his illness. He had experienced the loss of his father in 2006 and a number of friends and family since that time. He was conscious that people need understanding and support at these times.
He was taking tamoxifen and wondered whether there had been any research on side effects in men. He had aching joints and muscles. He sometimes felt that his temper could flare up more quickly and he could get angry about silly; issues.
He had been offered reconstructive surgery or a nipple tattoo but couldn’t see the point of it at his age, although he didn’t feel comfortable about exposing his body (although this was not something he would normally do anyway). He was not able to do things like weight training because it aggravated his lymphoedeoma. After his operation he could hardly raise his arm at all and still has some trouble raising it above his head.
He had had some peer support over the phone, but he would have loved some one-one peer support in person from another man with breast cancer and thinks that a lot of men need counseling. He comments that many women get a lot of support when they get breast cancer. He would like to see both women and men mentioned in breast cancer leaflets. He was one of only two men to take part in a fashion show to raise awareness about breast cancer.
He felt that having breast cancer had totally changed his life. He now felt that he was more understanding and caring. He felt that breast cancer still dominated much of his life and was reminded of it every time he looked in the mirror.

HGV King enjoyed the banter he could have with the female breast cancer patients he knew. He…

Age at interview 51

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 50

HGV King appreciated the leaflet that was specific to men with breast cancer, but wondered why…

Age at interview 51

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 50

HGV Kings breast care nurse invited him to a group for younger women with breast cancer. He has…

Age at interview 51

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 50

HGV King felt anxious when he was waiting for the results of his test, especially when he was…

Age at interview 51

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 50

HGV King describes his radiotherapy sessions. The set up could take a long time, around twenty…

Age at interview 51

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 50

HGV King developed a ‘verbal anger’ and felt more emotional for the first six months after having…

Age at interview 51

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 50

HGV King had an inverted nipple for over 6 months. He asked for some cream for it at a work…

Age at interview 51

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 50

HGV King noticed his inverted nipple about six months before a medical for work. It was painless…

Age at interview 51

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 50