I began to develop a daily routine to aid me in my life-long effort to keep cancer from returning – or at the very least, to give me some tools for coping.
PUBLISHED January 29, 2019
Khevin Barnes is a Male Breast Cancer survivor, magician and speaker. He is currently writing, composing and producing a comedy stage musical about Male Breast Cancer Awareness. He travels wherever he is invited to speak to (and do a little magic for) men and women about breast cancer. www.BreastCancerSpeaker.com www.MaleBreastCancerSurvivor.com
The minute we are diagnosed with cancer, our lives change forever. It's as though our internal clock is reset, and we start the process of living anew. Naturally, the first weeks or months require a significant adjustment in our routines, often challenging not only how we acknowledge and combat our disease, but how we see life itself and our uncertain futures.
Being told I had breast cancer was a punch in the gut for me (or the left breast to be precise), but the significance of that pronouncement had ramifications beyond my initial shock of being unwell. The relative rarity of breast cancer in males did little to boost my expectations for a positive outcome. There was a lot of confusion over how to treat men. Do we treat them differently? Do they respond to the same protocols prescribed for women? Even five years ago, when my own life-changing moment arrived, there were far more questions than answers.
Being told I had breast cancer was a punch in the gut for me (or the left breast to be precise), but the significance of that pronouncement had ramifications beyond my initial shock of being unwell. The relative rarity of breast cancer in males did little to boost my expectations for a positive outcome. There was a lot of confusion over how to treat men. Do we treat them differently? Do they respond to the same protocols prescribed for women? Even five years ago, when my own life-changing moment arrived, there were far more questions than answers.
