CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Breast Cancer Awareness Month continues, a North Carolina couple is urging men to be on the lookout for the disease.
Darnell and Gail Brooks are nearing the end of a long fight with breast cancer. The couple was diagnosed with the disease just a year apart, shocking Darnell, as he had not given much thought to a man contracting the disease.
“When I caught it, I was surprised. I said, 'what?' When I found out I had breast cancer, I said, 'what?'” Darnell said while in a Charlotte exam room this month.
His wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2020, having a mastectomy right before the pandemic began.
In late winter of 2021, Darnell Brooks said he started having pain and discomfort in his upper body.
“At nighttime my wife would lay on my chest, and I’d say, ‘that hurts.’ And she’d said, ‘Well, go get it checked.’ I went to the doctor and the doctor said, ‘Well, it’s nothing.’ But, it wouldn’t go away,” Brooks explained.
At first, doctors told Brooks not to worry about it, and that they could not find anything. But, he said Gail Brooks was persistent, pushing him to continue visiting the doctor until they took him seriously. Eventually, they found Stage 3 breast cancer.
“He was a little worried, but I told him, 'God don’t make mistakes. So, we’re going to get through this just like I got through mine,'” Gail Brooks said while sitting in on Darnell Brooks’ appointment.
Brooks was one of just the few thousand men diagnosed with breast cancer each year. The American Cancer Society says women are 100 times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than men. However, Black women are only 70 times more likely to be diagnosed than black men.
“He took care of me, so I had to return the favor,” Gail Brooks added.
On the day of their appointment, the couple wore T-shirts saying, "Husband and Wife, best friends for life, fight against breast cancer."
“It makes us closer, it gives us more time together, and we talk. It makes us communicate,” Gail Brooks said. “And, understand each other, because we’ve both been through the same thing.”
Including one thing in particular.
“My husband always said, 'I never knew what women went through, but I do now with the hot flashes.' He said, 'I don’t recommend it, men,'” Brooks said laughing.
Despite a husband and wife breast cancer diagnosis, the couple clarified they believe they are anything but unlucky.
“First of all, I’m grateful they found it, and it wasn’t worse. I’m grateful that my lovely wife was with me every step of the way,” Darnell Brooks said.
The Brooks' doctor, Dr. Nasfat Shehadeh, said men and women should be on the lookout for the disease. Thankfully, Shehadeh said outcomes for breast cancer have increased dramatically, compared to when he entered the field 25 years ago.
“I mean the outcome, the survival is much better than before, because the many drugs available at our disposal. Including, immunotherapy for selected patients, advanced hormone therapy, as well as chemotherapy,” Shehadeh said after the appointment.
Women should get checked once a year, unless they are higher risk. There is no set standard for men. But, if a man experiences a breast lump or swelling, he should contact his doctor immediately, according to Shehadeh.