A former Bristol police officer has described his ordeal after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Dave , who now runs his own IT company, was on holiday in 2015 when he first discovered the lump. He said: "I was on holiday in Florida, celebrating my birthday, when I found a lump on my chest in the shower. It wasn’t painful and I didn’t tell anyone about it because life just seemed normal.
He said he 'wasn't aware that men should check for breast cancer'.
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"I know that if your body changes, you shouldn’t leave it so I went to see my GP as soon as I got home and they referred me to see a specialist consultant," he said. "Despite being told it was probably just a fatty deposit, I had an ultrasound and biopsy. One week later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The tumour was the size of a golf ball.
"Of course, when I was first diagnosed I was scared and it was tough to tell my children. I had a mastectomy, treatment and almost seven years later I am in good health and still receiving a course of drugs that can reduce the rate of cancer returning.
"My mother died from ovarian cancer when she was 68-years-old, and I knew there was a link between ovarian and breast cancer, but generally little is known about male breast cancer. People will say 'I didn't realise men could get that' and to be honest, I didn't think I would ever get it!
"It's really interesting that if you're affected by fertility issues, you could be more likely to be affected by breast cancer. I'm lucky that I haven't been impacted by fertility problems, but it's important scientists build on Breast Cancer Now's research as it could help to find out what causes some male breast cancers and one day even lead to developing new treatments."
It comes as researchers are now linking infertility with breast cancer in men. The findings, published in Breast Cancer Research, are part of the wider Male Breast Cancer Study. It was launched by Breast Cancer Now in 2007 to pinpoint the genetic, environmental and lifestyle causes of breast cancer in men.
The aim is to help identify those at risk and understand what can be done to lower their chances of developing the disease. There are around 11,500 breast cancer deaths in the UK every year, or around 32 every day.
Lead author Dr Michael Jones, of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "The causes of breast cancer in men are largely unknown, partly because it is rare and partly because previous studies have been small.
"The evidence presented in our study suggests that the association of infertility and breast cancer should be confirmed with further research and future investigations are needed into the potential underlying factors, such as hormone imbalances."
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