'I was playing rugby and thought I'd taken a bump - I had no idea men could get this disease'

A father who was diagnosed with breast cancer before the disease returned in his spine and "riddled" his body nearly two decades later is urging other men not to "die of ignorance". Brian Place, a 60-year-old operations manager from Newcastle, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 after discovering a pea-sized lump in his left breast.

Brian initially delayed seeing his GP as he did not think men could get the disease, but he underwent a mastectomy. In 2007, he chose to have his right breast removed as well, feeling "asymmetrical" and due to the cells showing cancer-capable tendencies.

By 2010, he was discharged as a cancer patient. Brian said he was then cancer-free and able to "get on with life", but in August 2023 he started experiencing severe back pain, which worsened to the point where he was "crawling along the floor".

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This led to the discovery in February this year that the cancer had returned in his spine, collapsing one of his vertebrae, as well as in his pelvis and liver. Now, he is managing his secondary diagnosis with medication – and although the cancer is stage 4 and incurable, and he was told he has a "50/50 chance of making five years".

He said he feels "lucky" that he can still enjoy his favourite pastimes, such as playing golf and going to concerts. Speaking about his advice to other men, he told PA Real Life: "Don’t die of ignorance. This is a genderless disease, check yourself and if you find anything suspicious – get it checked out straight away.

"Men must not be an ostrich and stick their head in the sand... because they really need to get the help when it’s the right time to get the help."

Before Brian’s first diagnosis, he said he had “no idea that men could get breast cancer”.

Now, he is part of the Men’s VMU (virtual meet-up) – a support group specifically for men diagnosed with breast cancer – but back then, he said support, advice and literature were scarce.

So, when he found a lump in his left breast while showering in 2005 – which he described as "small, round and mobile, like a frozen pea" – he assumed it was a cyst. "I was playing rugby at the time, a high-impact sport, and I thought I’d taken a bump in the chest and a cyst had grown as a result," he explained.

"I didn’t really consider it could have been cancer at all."

Brian, a father to two daughters named Ainsley, 33, and Devon, 27, said he waited a month before deciding to visit his GP, as the lump persisted, and he was then referred to a breast clinic. He felt like "a duck out of water" at the clinic, being the only man there, and he underwent a mammogram, fine needle aspiration and an ultrasound scan.

He later underwent a biopsy, which confirmed he had breast cancer in 2005 – and he recalled the surgeon's explanation that the tumour likely developed over five or six years. "Nothing can prepare you for it. It’s just shock getting told that you’ve got cancer for the first time," he said.

Professor Valerie Speirs, a leading breast cancer expert, highlighted that roughly 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK annually. She said: "This type of cancer is frequently oestrogen receptor positive, which means that men can receive endocrine therapy, typically a drug called Tamoxifen, as part of their treatment.

"Initially, this treatment was given for five years but can now be extended to 10 years if it is well tolerated by patients."

For Brian, his treatment involved a mastectomy to remove his left breast two weeks post-diagnosis, alongside radiotherapy and beginning Tamoxifen treatment.

However, the side effects were debilitating. He said it made him feel like he "should be in a wheelchair" – from hot sweats to aching joints and weight gain, leading him to halt this medication after seven months. Later, feeling "completely asymmetrical" and considering the risk to his right breast, he opted for another mastectomy in 2007.

Left with two nine-inch scars and no nipples, he says that it "doesn’t bother (him) in the slightest".

"Once you’ve taken that step to actually go bare-chested on holiday or around the pool or even the back garden, nobody takes a second glance," he said. "I had that little bit of trepidation that I was not going to be accepted, but quite frankly, it was never a problem."

From 2010, Brian was discharged as a cancer patient and said life returned to "normal", and he felt "lucky" that the cancer had been caught early enough and he did not require prolonged treatment.

However, in August 2023, while playing golf, that he noticed pain in his back – and by Christmas that year, he said he could barely stand or get dressed, as he was in "constant, excruciating pain". "I was crawling along the floor. I could hardly get out of bed," he explained.

He went to see his GP and a chiropractor – but an MRI and a CT scan revealed one of his vertebrae had collapsed, causing him to become 3cm shorter, and in February 2024 it was confirmed the cancer had returned. "That’s when we discovered that not only was it all up and down my spine, but it was also in my pelvis and in my liver," he said.

"I said (to the oncologist), ‘would it be fair to say that I’m riddled?’ And he said, ‘we don’t like to use that word but yes, pretty much’."

Although Brian is in pain every day and may require palliative radiotherapy in future, he is taking medication to manage his diagnosis and said he has been able to regain some mobility and "quality of life".

Despite being told he has a "50/50 chance of making five years", Brian remains optimistic and is determined to raise awareness about male breast cancer. He praised the Men’s VMU for their "fantastic" support and urged others to get any unusual symptoms checked promptly.

"Men are not immune to this type of cancer," he warned, adding that many men are unaware they can develop breast cancer.

“Blokes, particularly, every single one that you talk to, even on the Men’s VMU, will tell you that they had no idea that men could get breast cancer. Get the message out there, people are less ignorant, and the sooner they catch it, the better quality of life they’re going to have, maybe even a cure."

For more information on The Men’s VMU, visit: themensvmu.org.