Former KISS drummer: Men Get Breast Cancer Too

[NicNak]

Former KISS Drummer: Men Get Breast Cancer Too
By Phil Wahba, Reuters
October 21, 2009

Peter Criss, founding member of rock band KISS, knows that many of his male fans are macho, so he is making the rounds to tell them even tough rocker guys like him can suffer from a disease usually associated with women -- breast cancer.

Criss, who was the New York rock band's drummer on and off from its founding in 1972 until 2004 and the voice on some of their most beloved classics, including the 1976 Top Ten hit "Beth" and "Hard Luck Woman", said too many men don't seek treatment and think breast discomfort will go away on its own.

But Criss, who discovered a lump in his left nipple in December 2007, said men need to get over their perception that breast cancer is a woman's disease.

"It can happen to you, and when it does, if you don't deal with it right away, with your 'dude' and your metal and your tattoos, you'll go in the box and we'll see you," Criss told Reuters during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Criss, 63, underwent a lumpectomy in February 2008 and a mastectomy the following month under the care of Dr. Alex Swistel, director of the Weill Cornell Breast Center in New York, and he often felt odd as the only man in the waiting room.

While breast cancer among men is one hundred times less common than among women, it can be deadly. The American Cancer Society estimated there will be 1,910 new cases of male breast cancer in 2009, and about 440 U.S. men will die this year from the disease.

Criss, who is now cancer free, acknowledged that the treatment was unpleasant.

"Whoever invented (mammogram machines) had to do it in the medieval days," he said, adding that it was nearly impossible to fit a small male breast into the machine. He called the pain "excruciating" but a worthwhile price to to be healthy.

...

Still, Criss said he hopes his heavy metal credentials will help mitigate the stigma around breast cancer for men.

"You are no more manly a guy than me -- I grew up in Brooklyn," Criss said.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Kiss drummer tells breast-cancer tale

Kiss drummer tells breast-cancer tale
by Wayne Parry, Globe and Mail
Nov. 18, 2009

Peter Criss noticed an odd lump in 2007, had it removed, and received the diagnosis a week later

Lying in bed one night in 2007, Peter Criss felt something strange: a small lump on his left breast.

?I thought, ?It's a nodule, I'm a guy, I don't think it's anything more than that,'? he said. ?The more I messed with it, the bigger it got and the more it hurt, and that started really scaring me.?

The former Kiss drummer went to the doctor, underwent some tests and a surgical procedure to remove the lump. A week later, the doctor called. It was breast cancer. ?My heart hit my stomach and my knees buckled,? Mr. Criss recalled.

The good news was that Mr. Criss had caught the disease at its earliest stage. After a second surgery to remove it in March, 2008, he would not need chemotherapy, radiation or medication.

Now, the rocker who performed in his Catman makeup is speaking out about his illness to encourage other men to get tested for breast cancer ? a disease more commonly associated with women, who are routinely urged to get regular mammograms at a certain age ? the moment they suspect something might be amiss.

?You need to immediately tell your wife, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, whatever,? he said. ?The more you sit around and say, ?Well, it's going to go away,' that time could be the time that you save your life.?

Men account for only 1 per cent of all breast-cancer cases, but about 2,000 men develop it each year, and 440 die from it, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Alexander Swistel, who treated Mr. Criss, praised his decision to get checked out immediately after sensing something was wrong. ?He's a great spokesperson, and he's very bright about this kind of thing,? Dr. Swistel said. ?To have someone like him come forward and show that there's life after this is a wonderful thing. Rather than be the typical guy and say, ?Ah, forget it,' he moved on it right away.?

There should be no stigma attached to having the disease, or seeking help for it, Mr. Criss said. Other tough guys, including Shaft actor Richard Roundtree, have spoken out about having breast cancer.

?It's something we think guys don't get,? Mr. Criss said. ?Guys get prostate cancer, heart attacks. Men are men ? women get breast cancer. Or so I thought.

?It has nothing to do with macho,? said Mr. Criss, best known for the 1976 ballad ?Beth,? which remains Kiss' biggest hit to date. ?There's no tougher guy than me. I was born in Brooklyn, I was in gangs, I did the whole battling thing my whole life. I think a man is a man if he steps forward and says, ?There's something bad going on and I need to deal with it.'?

His doctor says the 63-year-old is cancer-free today. Mr. Criss' treatment gave him an up-close look at what women have endured for ages.

?I sat in the waiting room, and there were all these women who looked like they weren't going to be here long ? no hair, scarves ? a place a guy doesn't think he's ever going to be sitting in one day,? he said.

And having a mammogram was an experience in itself for Mr. Criss.

?It's amazing how they can get a guy's little pecs in that thing that the poor women go through,? he said. ?They are so medieval! I have a whole new respect for women going through mammograms.?

Mr. Criss was a co-founder of Kiss from 1973-1980, did a reunion tour from 1996-2000, and returned for a final stint in 2003. He's working on a new solo album and a long-delayed autobiography.

?I am the Catman, and I do have nine lives, but I think I'm down to five now.?