“Early detection is key”

Male Breast Cancer Survivor Urges Men to Check for This Rare Cancer

It was a slight abnormality causing no discomfort, but Damon McDonald kept an eye on it anyway—his inverted left nipple. He waited to see if anything changed, but it didn’t. Then, on March 28, 2019, at the urging of Dr. Britton Lott, a radiologist at the Breast Center in Fayetteville and friend of his wife, Brooke, Damon went in for a biopsy. This was on a Thursday. The next day, he got the diagnosis: Grade 2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. “I had a pity party but got over it,” said the 45-year-old owner of McDonald Building Group and father of two. “I told some close family and friends— then just started my journey.” Damon’s rare diagnosis put him in the one percent category of men with breast cancer. He points to a couple of factors he believes were instrumental in his condition. “I’d been taking shots for testosterone, but something didn’t feel right. My doctor had me stop them, so I quit taking them. And then I had an estrogen spike which had a lot to do with my getting breast cancer.” Damon explained that his mother, an Alzheimer’s patient, died, and this caused him to suffer from a high level of stress. His reaction to getting the cancer diagnosis “after losing my mom was, ‘I’m just ready to take on. Let’s do it just as quick as we can.’” Dr. Lott put Damon on a fast track, and he was able to get an appointment the following week with Dr. Michael J. Cross of Highlands Oncology. “I had surgery on June 8 at Washington Regional, a full mastectomy on the left side. Everything was removed. It wasn’t in the lymph nodes. The cancer was caught very early,” Damon said. “In men this cancer is very aggressive and usually not caught early. I was nervous about the aggressive part. At first I was diagnosed with stage 2-3, but after the surgery they called it a stage 1. He said he and his wife “are big believers in prayer. We had a lot of people praying for me.” The McDonalds attend Cross Church in Fayetteville. After his surgery, Damon said he was down for two weeks. “I had a lot of bleeding and had to go back quite a bit because of that.” In terms of activities and lifestyle, “they don’t limit me in any way. I do have some physical limitations. I can’t move my arm as much as I used to, and there’s not much feeling.” He admits to being a workaholic and arranged for Brooke to drive him around during his convalescence to check on the business he’s had for 10 years, McDonald Building Group. “We build houses in Northwest Arkansas.” Damon said that with his diagnosis and treatment “We were upfront with our kids. They handled it good.” Sloan, their daughter is 9 and Jax, their son, is 6. He and Brooke got genetic testing for their children’s sake.” The BRACA (BREAST CANCER gene) test came back negative and “took a lot of stress off me. I walked away feeling I had a new chance. Let’s go and live life!” Susan G. Komen Ozark and its partner Hope Cancer Resources played a significant role of support role in Damen’s journey. He was referred to Lauren Marquette, the nonprofit’s executive director, and once the connection was made, she became his champion. “She would call and check on me regularly. When I had surgery, she came and brought me different things, like a special attachment where my drain would be and a little pillow. “They really advocate for you and offer a lot of free services like counseling, support groups, a $500 grant to help pay for scans, for rides to treatment. I didn’t need any help of that kind but once I became connected with Lauren, I did a couple of events for her and wanted to give back.” He said he’s learned a lot and educated himself through his experience with cancer. “The biggest thing I’ve learned, especially for males because of its aggressiveness, is check yourself regularly—don’t be too scared or prideful. I would be the only male all the time in those waiting rooms at the Breast Center. Early detection is key.”