Relay for Life participant says men, too, get breast cancer

ABERDEEN, Wash. – Harborites participate in Relay for Life for a variety of reasons: to honor family members who lost the battle with cancer, to celebrate their own survival, to raise money for research or to be part of one of Grays Harbor’s largest community events.

But Stan McManemy walks the track to eradicate a misconception: that men can’t be diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Aberdeen, Washington, resident is living proof that they can. He was diagnosed with it in 2001, and has been cancer-free since successfully treating the condition a short time later. At this year’s Relay, he walked holding a large, bright-pink sign reading, “I’m a breast cancer survivor.”

“When they talk about breast cancer on TV, they say that only women get it,” McManemy said. “But that’s not true. And I’m here to tell people that.”

McManemy is the second man in his family to survive breast cancer. His father was diagnosed in the 1960s, but lived into his 90s. So when McManemy found a lump on his chest, he went straight to the doctor.

“He told me it was nothing, that it was just a fatty tumor,” McManemy said. “But I didn’t think so, so I went to another doctor. He said, ‘I’m glad you came to me. Otherwise, you’d be up in the cemetery.’ ”

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is about 100 times less common in men than it is in women. In the United States, about 2,360 men are diagnosed with the condition each year, and about 430 men die of breast cancer.

McManemy said he considers himself lucky – he knew what to look for and was able to catch the condition early enough that it could be treated without chemotherapy.

Dave Hill approaches Relay for Life in the same active way. He’s been a 24-hour walker for the past three years, and took on the challenge after learning that those participants typically raise more money. Last year, he collected about $12,000. By 6:30 p.m. Friday he had collected about $350.

Both his grandmother and mother-in-law died of cancer, and Hill said he wants to do what he can to prevent other people from suffering in the same way.

“If I’m here, I want to be doing as much as I can,” Hill said. “I don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines, I want to be out here walking.”