Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Male Breast Cancer

Aired June 11, 2003 - 08:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We heard earlier from Sanjay Gupta about breast cancer affecting men as well as women, although it's 100 times more common in women. About 1,500 men to be diagnosed with that disease this year and the kill rate is incredible; about 30 percent, 400 of the 1,500 will die. Former Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke has battled breast cancer. He is now cancer free, and is our guest today live in D.C.
Great to have you, and good morning.

EDWARD BROOKE, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: Nice to be with you. Thank you.

HEMMER: Go back to September of last year. What were you feeling?

BROOKE: Well, I felt some discomfort in my chest, my right breast, specifically. And my wife, Ann (ph), said I should go to the doctor and find out about it. But I dismissed it as aging, and possible muscle strain or something of that sort. And finally, I did go to the doctor at her insistence, and went through a mammogram, and a sonogram, and then a needlepoint, a needle biopsy, and they found a malignant tumor. And I had to be operated on for breast cancer. I didn't think that, you know, men had breast cancer. I never thought it would happen to me. I'm not a smoker, or drinker, and I exercise and eat fairly good food, and I just thought, look, it's not for me.

HEMMER: It was on your right side of your chest. Had it been on your left side you would have thought it was your heart, I'm assuming?

BROOKE: Yes.

HEMMER: But since it was on your right side, it left you a bit dumbfounded and confused.

BROOKE: It did, because I said gas or maybe muscle. And as I said, dismissed it. And most men do. Men don't like to admit that they have breast cancer or even think about it.

HEMMER: Had your doctor known about this when you walked in there?

BROOKE: No. Actually, you know, I had never been examined for -- my breasts have never been examined by a doctor. And that's one of the problems I find, that doctors do not routinely examine men's breasts. All my life, I'd never had my breasts examined before. HEMMER: I understand senator that you essentially hid this for some time from your family, from your friends. What were you afraid of?

BROOKE: Well not really afraid of anything. I've never liked to share my burdens. I share my joys. I didn't want to put this upon other people, my family, my friends, and so, consequently, my wife and I decided to keep it secret, and just deal with it privately. And I waited, oh, I think several months before I even told our son when he came home from college on Christmas vacation. And then I sent letters to my other friends, and told them, look, I feel I'm all right. I'm going to be fine. I went away for vacation in St. Martin, and don't send me any cards, any flowers, or any candy. It's going to be all right.

But I'm very deeply concerned. I've been very deeply concerned. That's why I came public with the Komen (ph) Foundation, and the WYMI (ph) people as well, because I feel there's a group of people out there, a group of men out there who just will not admit that they have breast cancer, or may not even know, say poor people, people living in dire poverty, or Hispanics who don't speak English. Those men will never know, never believe in a million years that they have breast cancer. And if they don't get it detected early and treated, then that breast cancer could spread to other parts of their body, as it did to me. It spread to my lymph nodes, and I had to take all of my lymph nodes out of my right side.

So, I'm hoping that we can bring about a national awareness of cancer, early detection of cancer, get some insurance companies to pay for mammograms for men, which they don't do at the present time, and to just get men not to be so macho about this whole thing. Men have breast tissue like women, and they can have breast cancer, and they do.

HEMMER: Best to you. You're cancer free, right?

BROOKE: I hope so. And I pray.

HEMMER: Did I read that you're 85 years old?

BROOKE: I'm 83, I will be 84 on October 26th. Don't add another year too soon.

HEMMER: I apologize. I was doing the math the wrong way. You look fantastic.

BROOKE: Thank you.

HEMMER: And best of luck to you and your wife on your farm outside of D.C.

BROOKE: I certainly appreciate it.

HEMMER: Thanks for sharing your story. That's Edward Brooke, former senator from Massachusetts.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 11, 2003 - 08:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We heard earlier from Sanjay Gupta about breast cancer affecting men as well as women, although it's 100 times more common in women. About 1,500 men to be diagnosed with that disease this year and the kill rate is incredible; about 30 percent, 400 of the 1,500 will die. Former Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke has battled breast cancer. He is now cancer free, and is our guest today live in D.C.
Great to have you, and good morning.

EDWARD BROOKE, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: Nice to be with you. Thank you.

HEMMER: Go back to September of last year. What were you feeling?

BROOKE: Well, I felt some discomfort in my chest, my right breast, specifically. And my wife, Ann (ph), said I should go to the doctor and find out about it. But I dismissed it as aging, and possible muscle strain or something of that sort. And finally, I did go to the doctor at her insistence, and went through a mammogram, and a sonogram, and then a needlepoint, a needle biopsy, and they found a malignant tumor. And I had to be operated on for breast cancer. I didn't think that, you know, men had breast cancer. I never thought it would happen to me. I'm not a smoker, or drinker, and I exercise and eat fairly good food, and I just thought, look, it's not for me.

HEMMER: It was on your right side of your chest. Had it been on your left side you would have thought it was your heart, I'm assuming?

BROOKE: Yes.

HEMMER: But since it was on your right side, it left you a bit dumbfounded and confused.

BROOKE: It did, because I said gas or maybe muscle. And as I said, dismissed it. And most men do. Men don't like to admit that they have breast cancer or even think about it.

HEMMER: Had your doctor known about this when you walked in there?

BROOKE: No. Actually, you know, I had never been examined for -- my breasts have never been examined by a doctor. And that's one of the problems I find, that doctors do not routinely examine men's breasts. All my life, I'd never had my breasts examined before. HEMMER: I understand senator that you essentially hid this for some time from your family, from your friends. What were you afraid of?

BROOKE: Well not really afraid of anything. I've never liked to share my burdens. I share my joys. I didn't want to put this upon other people, my family, my friends, and so, consequently, my wife and I decided to keep it secret, and just deal with it privately. And I waited, oh, I think several months before I even told our son when he came home from college on Christmas vacation. And then I sent letters to my other friends, and told them, look, I feel I'm all right. I'm going to be fine. I went away for vacation in St. Martin, and don't send me any cards, any flowers, or any candy. It's going to be all right.

But I'm very deeply concerned. I've been very deeply concerned. That's why I came public with the Komen (ph) Foundation, and the WYMI (ph) people as well, because I feel there's a group of people out there, a group of men out there who just will not admit that they have breast cancer, or may not even know, say poor people, people living in dire poverty, or Hispanics who don't speak English. Those men will never know, never believe in a million years that they have breast cancer. And if they don't get it detected early and treated, then that breast cancer could spread to other parts of their body, as it did to me. It spread to my lymph nodes, and I had to take all of my lymph nodes out of my right side.

So, I'm hoping that we can bring about a national awareness of cancer, early detection of cancer, get some insurance companies to pay for mammograms for men, which they don't do at the present time, and to just get men not to be so macho about this whole thing. Men have breast tissue like women, and they can have breast cancer, and they do.

HEMMER: Best to you. You're cancer free, right?

BROOKE: I hope so. And I pray.

HEMMER: Did I read that you're 85 years old?

BROOKE: I'm 83, I will be 84 on October 26th. Don't add another year too soon.

HEMMER: I apologize. I was doing the math the wrong way. You look fantastic.

BROOKE: Thank you.

HEMMER: And best of luck to you and your wife on your farm outside of D.C.

BROOKE: I certainly appreciate it.

HEMMER: Thanks for sharing your story. That's Edward Brooke, former senator from Massachusetts.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com