Bruised vet discovered his breast cancer after he was floored by cow
A VET has told how his life was saved when he was flattened by a cow, leading to the discovery that he had breast cancer.
David Aggett, 49, was left battered and bruised by the encounter at a dairy farm.
But the father of three was shocked when he examined his bruises, discovering a lump the size of a pea under his right nipple.
David, of Henstridge, Somerset, said: “I got crushed and bruised by one of my patients, a dairy cow.
“She flattened me and I ended up falling down on to a metal bar, which came right across my chest.
“I wasn’t seriously hurt. I had a nasty bruise and it was a bit sore and I was keeping an eye on it.
“The pain improved and the bruise went away but the lump remained. I was lucky. If that hadn’t happened I don’t know when I would have found it.”
David is now campaigning to raise awareness that breast cancer is not a disease that only affects women.
Monitored
Yesterday, he joined forces with five other survivors, including a former GP and an ex-police officer, to highlight the issue.
David told how the discovery sparked “a rollercoaster year”.
He underwent a mastectomy and had lymph nodes removed from under his armpit, followed by five months of chemotherapy and a month of radiotherapy after the diagnosis in December 2015.
He underwent further surgery in May 2017 after discovering the cancer had spread to his lungs.
David is now undergoing hormone therapy and is being monitored on a monthly basis by a team at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
He said: “The problem with men in general is that we are not very health conscious. We don’t rush to our GP.
“My message would be check your breasts. That includes all you men, too.”
Yesterday, David was joined by fellow survivor Mike Greenhalgh, 63, who told how he had never come across a case of breast cancer in men while working as a family doctor for 27 years.
Mike underwent a double mastectomy and is on a course of hormonal therapy drug Tamoxifen, after he was diagnosed in 2014. He said: “The important thing is to pick it up quickly and for men to get more involved in their own health.”
Yesterday, the pair donned pink T-shirts with blue bras printed on them as they hooked up with fellow survivors to help raise awareness.
The group included retired police officer Dave Talbot, 62, Glenn Cooper, 65, Richard Galloway, 62, and Giles Cooper, 58.
The inspirational men are encouraging companies, public services, community organisations and individuals nationwide to download a special “check your chest” poster created by breast
Walk The Walk.
Nina Barough, founder and executive of Walk The Walk, said: “It is such a privilege to be working with these incredibly brave men, who are prepared to share the emotional and very different ways that breast cancer has affected their lives. Their cancer charity courage is born from their passion to help raise awareness and to encourage other men to be more aware of just how important it is to check their chest.
“Although less men than women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, the mortality rate for primary breast cancer in men is high in comparison, due to lack of awareness and late detection.”
Every year, 370 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK.
‘The problem with men is that we are not very health conscious‘