1 in 1,000 men are diagnosed with Breast Cancer. What the ‘one’ in El Paso says is key to the fight

A sharp pain woke Miguel Cano up in the middle of the night. It was coming from his right breast, just above his nipple.

Cano felt a lump three years before that and a doctor told him not to worry because men don’t usually get cancer.

After getting tested, that lump and pain came back positive for breast cancer.

“It was pretty scary because everything I read about male breast cancer was not good,” Cano said. “And one of the reasons is that men ignore it. And when you ignore something it’s like a death sentence.”

But Cano, wearing a “Men Wear Pink” baseball hat on an October afternoon, tells ABC-7 he did not ignore his diagnosis. Mostly because he has experience in the medical field working at The Hospitals of Providence for decades as a surgical technologist.

“It made me think twice because you can’t run away from your problems,” Cano said. “I went to the doctor right away and it saved my life.”

Sharing the news

It was the holiday season when Cano got his diagnosis. Thinking back on the memory, he remembers the Christmas tree already on display in his East El Paso home.

“I turned around and I didn’t want to tell my family because I didn’t want to scare them.”

The Cano family is used to handling unfortunate medical news. Cano’s father-in-law died of esophageal cancer in 1978, Cano’s wife battled ovarian cancer in 2000 and his mother-in-law is in hospice currently.

“We survived that, then we got to my ordeal here,” Cano said. “I had to deal with it on my own because I didn’t want to bother [my wife]. I saw her suffer through so much with her father.”

Making jokes after surgery

When Cano was taken in for surgery to get his right breast removed, he realized it was his mother’s birthday: December 18.

“At that time I said, ‘My mother’s with me.’ That made me rest at ease and I didn’t worry about it as much as I had before.”

Getting the breast removed is often the only surgical option for men diagnosed with breast cancer, according to Cano. Doctors also performed a sentinel node biopsy on him to determine how far the cancer spread into the lymphatic system.

“The first thing I remember asking the doctor when I woke up, I said, ‘how are the nodes?'” Cano joked.

They were negative, which meant Cano did not have to go in for chemotherapy or radiation.

Cano reiterates he was lucky he took care of his cancer on time.

He will now have to take Tamoxifen for the next ten years to prevent the cancer from coming back. He goes to doctor check ups every year.

As a medical professional, he’s seen patients get their cancer back after 10 years or more.

“And you’re always thinking, ‘It could come back.'”

A new battle

Cancer is on the back burner for Cano now as he deals with an ascending aortic aneurysm, which his doctors are watching.

“They gave me medication so my blood pressure would be artificially low, so I feel tired most of the time,” Cano said. “By noon you’re lucky if I’m awake.”

Because of his aneurysm, Cano cannot work. He was just eight months shy of hitting 50 years with the Hospitals of Providence.

On top of everything, Cano is a diabetic.

“On the outside I look good. I don’t know on the inside, if you open me up like a banana,” Cano laughed.

Being a man with breast cancer

One in 1,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Even though it’s one percent, that one percent can still kill you.”

Cano, being that one, said early detection will save men’s lives.

“Do not ignore it,” Cano advised. “We seem to think we are stronger than the women, but the women are actually stronger because they can take more pain than we can at anytime.”

Cano remembers participating in a breast cancer walk and being the only man there among the dozens of women. He has also spoken at events about breast cancer.

Cano said society is not geared toward early detection measures, but rather intervention.

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cano wishes all men and women who have or currently are battling with the disease – including ABC-7’s Estela Casas – good luck with their fight.

“We’re kind of in a club,” Cano said. He said he bands together with survivors as his family has stood by him.

“My faith and my family took care of me in a way that I couldn’t have taken care of myself.”