LAS VEGAS -- Most discussions about breast cancer tend to focus on women, but men are also affected by the disease. Every year, nearly 2,000 men in this country are diagnosed with breast cancer and about 400 die from the disease.
A Las Vegas man received the shocking diagnosis 12 years ago and he wants other men to know it can happen to them.
Lance Wolf, 56, is a husband and a father of two. For the past 12 years, he's taken on another title: breast cancer survivor.
"I knew that a man could get it, but I didn't think I could get it," Wolf said.
He first felt the lump while taking a shower in 2001 and didn't pay much attention to it. It wasn't until his 5-year-old daughter jumped on his chest and made him realize the bump was still there and?he needed to see a doctor.?
"That's the story we told, my daughter saved my life because we played jump on Daddy."
Wolf, who was also 150 pounds heavier at the time went straight to the doctor who told him that his weight was a problem, but not a priority. Wolf was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.
"I would tell somebody I had breast cancer and the first thing out of their mouth, 'are you kidding?' and I was like why would I kid about that, it's serious stuff."
So serious, that Wolf said he could have died if the cancer had not been caught early.
"You have to do self examination. If you don't do it, by the time you find it, you are dead," he said.
Now a dozen years since his diagnosis, Wolf is cancer free. He's maintaining a much healthier lifestyle which includes taking part in the Race for the Cure in Las Vegas every year.
He is also trying to raise awareness that breast self exams aren't just for women.
"Even if some women see it and they go give their husband a self exam, I think it's really cool."
The next project for Wolf is working with Susan G. Komen to make the self-exam pamphlets and shower cards more men friendly.
Source: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/22145498/las-vegas-mans-battle-with-breast-cancer
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