THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610220085
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 74 lines
Last summer, while vacationing with his wife in the Bahamas, Steve Bowman discovered a painful lump under his right arm.
He figured he had been bitten by a tropical insect or was suffering a reaction from something he had eaten. A day later, the lump disappeared.
But as an environmental health specialist with Norfolk Public Health, this 36-year-old Chesapeake man knew he should get examined by a doctor. So when he returned home, that's exactly what he did.
That visit probably extended his life.
During an exam, the doctor discovered another lump, smaller than a fingernail, in Bowman's right breast. It turned out to be cancerous.
``I was shocked,'' Bowman recalled. ``It's such a freak occurrence. You just don't think about men getting breast cancer.''
But they do, although admittedly the incidence is rare. Primarily considered a women's disease, breast cancer in males account for less than 1 percent of all cases diagnosed annually. By the end of 1996, the National Cancer Institute estimates some 1,400 American men will be diagnosed with the disease. About 260 of them will die from it.
Although the overall survival rate is similar in both men and women, statistically the prognosis for men is far worse than for that of women.
``A man gets a lump and it's like . . . no big deal,'' said Bowman. ``Men ignore the signs. So the mortality rate is much higher because they wait to have the symptoms checked out.''
By all indications, Bowman caught his disease just in time. A few weeks after his July diagnosis, doctors performed a complete mastectomy on Bowman's right breast. A subsequent biopsy revealed the disease had spread slightly but had not advanced to other organs in his body. He is currently undergoing his first regimen of chemotherapy.
From a large, extended family, Bowman has seen the ravages of cancer before. An uncle suffering from prostate cancer ignored painful symptoms until it was too late. By the time he was finally diagnosed, the cancer had spread throughout his body. Nothing could be done to save his life.
``I feel blessed I decided to have my doctor check me out when he did,'' Bowman said. ``I feel God has things for me to accomplish yet on this Earth and that is why he intervened.''
That early intervention when dealing with breast cancer can mean the difference between life and death. When detected early, 85 percent of those diagnosed with breast cancer are still alive five years later. More than half are still alive 15 years later.
Bowman wants that future. An avid hunter and fisherman, he is married and the father of a 13-month-old son.
``By the new year, Lord willing, I'll be done with my chemotherapy and can get on with the rest of my life,'' he said. ``There's a lot of life to enjoy and I want to live as long as possible. I have faith in God. That . . . and my family sustain me.''
The cancer is just another health concern he must now manage with care.
``I've always had asthma,'' the microbiologist said. ``So I learned when I was young to self-manage health problems. And part of the process is to know when to go to the doctor. The greatest miracle that God has given people is the ability to heal others. If you're sick, you need to go to the doctor for help as soon as possible. I'm glad I did.''
It's a lesson he plans to pass on to his son. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by BILL TIERNAN
Steve Bowman is undergoing chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery.
He feels lucky that it was caught early.
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AWARENESS MONTH
October is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Throughout the month, Norfolk Public Health Department's breast
and cervical control project is sponsoring training programs, exams,
screenings, fairs and other special events. For more information or
to find out where to get mammograms, call the state granted project
at 683-2757. by CNB