Retired male professor, Ronald Norman, has mastectomy after getting BREAST CANCER: Realized he was sick after being struck hard in nipple while playing pickleball
A retired university professor was shocked to learn he had breast cancer – and was only diagnosed after he was hit in the nipple during a game of pickleball.
Ronald Norman, 76, wrote an op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune about his discovery that he was among a small subset of men in the U.S. with breast cancer.
The former instructor, who taught at San Diego State University and Grossmont College before settling in Del Sur, California, was playing pickleball in June 2022 when his opponent hit a ball into his right chest.
Norman “doubled over” as the blow knocked the wind out of his sleeves, describing the impact as “possibly the hardest I’ve ever been hit in the game of pickleball in over a dozen years.” However, he was able to resume the match.
A few weeks later, the 76-year-old noticed a black and blue lump behind his nipple and assumed it was just a bruise. Over the next few weeks, the discoloration disappeared, but the lump remained.
Ronald Norman, 76, wrote an op-ed sharing his shock experience of being diagnosed with male breast cancer
The retired professor (pictured with his wife Caralie) only learned of the cancer after he was hit in the chest during a pickleball match
The 76-year-old assumed the black and blue lump on his right nipple was just a bruise, but when the lump remained, he sought a nurse and discovered it was a tumour.
In September, Norman was looking for a nurse. “She took one look at it and said, ‘This doesn’t look good; I am ordering a mammogram because it could be breast cancer,” he wrote.
The ex-professor was shocked. ‘What? Breast cancer? Me? Not really! No real cancer history in my family tree.’
But he went for a mammogram and received the official diagnosis: male breast cancer.
An echocardiogram, which uses sound waves to create images, was ordered, viewing the lymph nodes in Norman’s right armpit. A PET scan “illuminated” not only the cancerous mound, but at least three of the nodes.
His diagnosis was narrowed to stage 2 to 3 breast cancer.
“If only I had acted sooner, I might have caught the cancer before it spread to my lymph nodes,” Norman wrote. “But playing the “if only” or “why me?” game didn’t help. Staying positive and being willing to seek corrective action was the best strategy.”
After speaking with doctors and loved ones, Norman opted for an “alternative, more natural” treatment method and saw the tumor shrink after four months.
He received regular infusions of small amounts of chemotherapy specifically tailored to his blood work and experienced no traditional side effects of chemotherapy.
A PET scan showed that the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes in his right armpit, and the diagnosis was narrowed to stage 2 to 3 breast cancer
Norman underwent a range of treatments, including the use of estrogen blockers. His body produced higher than normal levels of the hormone for years, which may have caused cancer
He encourages other men to regularly examine their own chests and report any suspicious lumps to a doctor, warning: ‘You want to catch it as early as possible’
‘I thought everything was going fine. Unfortunately, after the program ended, my tumor was still there,” Norman wrote.
He was eventually forced to undergo a mastectomy to remove his right breast and the cancerous lymph nodes in the armpit.
It was followed by eight rounds of chemotherapy over a period of sixteen weeks, and then six weeks of radiation five days a week.
Five years after that, he was told to take estrogen-blocking medications because his body was producing more estrogen than normal, which may have been the cause of his breast cancer.
Norman has since completed eight rounds of chemotherapy and was awaiting the start of radiation therapy, a treatment that kills cells using high-energy beams.
“Fortunately, most of the side effects of the chemo were avoided, except for a sore tongue, partial numbness in my fingers/toes, no fingerprints, hair loss (I didn’t have much anyway!) and persistent limited or loss of energy,” the retired professor wrote.
‘To me, these are short-term sacrifices for the potential of future long-term health. And what made the difference for me was an incredible support group of family and friends throughout my journey.”
Although “annual mammograms are an option,” Norman encourages men to examine their chest many times throughout the year.
“If you feel anything lumpy, definitely get it checked by your doctor,” he urged.
“It could be nothing, a cyst, or it could be ‘the big C,’ and if it’s ‘the big C,’ you want to catch it as early as possible.”
According to the American Cancer Society, the lifetime risk of breast cancer in men is approximately one in 833.
Scientists haven’t fully understood the causes of breast cancer in men, but they have identified several factors that may increase the risk. Many factors are related to the body’s sex hormone levels.
Aging is also an important component, as the risk increases as a man ages. On average, men with breast cancer are about 72 years old when they are diagnosed.
The risk of breast cancer is greater if other members of the family (blood relatives) have had breast cancer. About 1 in 5 men with breast cancer have a close relative, male or female, with the disease.
Other factors that may increase the risk include heavy drinking (possibly due to alcohol’s effect on the liver, which balances sex hormone levels), obesity and radiation exposure.