HOWARD, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – As Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, health officials want to remind people that it can happen to anyone, even men.
For Howard resident Robert Bursa, it wasn’t a lump. Bursa tells FOX 11 he knew something was off when he noticed flaking on the tip of his breast back in April 2019.
“I had that for a couple weeks and when I would take a shower it would come off and get sort of raw, so I went into my family doctor and I could see he was a little bit alarmed, so my next step was he sent me to have a mammogram.”
After undergoing tests, Bursa received a call from the doctor.
“When the hospital, or doctors called me and told me that it was cancerous, that was traumatic. I had to deal with that for about 2 to 3 weeks and it was really a rollercoaster type of thing for me.”
The staff at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital Cancer Center treated Bursa for breast cancer. Dr. Mitch Winkler is an oncologist there.
“Breast cancer is one of the very common cancers that women get. Breast cancer occurring in men is about 100 times less common.”
“I said this isn’t going to beat me. Even though I struggled with the chemotherapy, I said to myself, well I’m not going to die. I knew I wasn’t going to die,” Bursa said.
Bursa is in remission now and emphasizes the importance of self-checks.
“You probably could talk to 1,000 guys and they never dream of having breast cancer type of thing. It’s the same situation. Ladies have to be able to check their breasts, men have to be able to check their breasts.”
Winkler tells FOX 11 the earlier the cancer is caught, the more success they have in curing it.
“For women, screening is critical. For men, because screening isn’t a routine part of their care, awareness of changes in their body, and particularly changes in the size and shape of their breasts are important, and seeing your doctor if you notice anything out of the ordinary.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, don’t push it off if there’s an issue. Early detection is everything in the cancer world and I was fortunate. Some people aren’t,” Bursa said.
Winkler says while breast cancer in men is rare, the treatments for breast cancer for both men and women are almost identical.
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