When Seamus Bennett was diagnosed with breast cancer, he was taken aback. He tells Joy Orpen he had no concept that men may want to fall victim to this form of most diseases. But having had a mastectomy, he is now doing nicely again. What does Portmarnock resident Seamus Bennett have in common with Sharon Osbourne and actors Richard Roundtree (Shaft), Angelina Jolie, and Kathy Bates? He, like all of them, needed to go through a double mastectomy. That guy can even get breast cancer comes as a complete wonder to the majority. But regrettably, now not see you later, Seamus discovered himself in that unenviable position. Nonetheless, he has chosen to speak brazenly approximately his hard ordeal so that other guys’ lives may be spared and because he is so thankful to all the nurses and doctors involved in his healing.
Seamus’s ordeal started in August 2017, when the seatbelt in his vehicle started chafing the left facet of his chest. Then, weeks later, he felt a lump in his breast, so he went to his GP, who referred him to the Beaumont Hospital Breast Centre. “I become surprised,” says Seamus. “But the health practitioner said at the same time that breast cancer in men became unusual; it wasn’t unheard of. He stated approximately 20 males present with it in Ireland every year.” Just five days later, Seamus had a mammogram, an ultrasound, and a biopsy. A week later, he and his wife, Judy, met representative general practitioner Colm Power, who confirmed that Seamus had breast cancer.
“He was additionally concerned – given that there may be strong records of breast cancer in my circle of relatives, and the reality that I changed into a male with breast cancer – that I may want to have a BRCA [genetic] mutation. If that was the case, he advised I is probably better served by a double mastectomy because the probabilities of breast cancer on the alternative side were as high as 40%,” Seamus says, including, “He was also of the opinion that I might likely need chemotherapy, and, maximum probably, radiotherapy.”
This turned into all earth-shattering news for this seventy-three-year-old father of four. “I became completely shocked,” he says. “I had always been careful to have checked every year to see if I was going to get prostate cancer. But to be honest, I by no means conceive breast cancer may want to develop in males. I determined, at that meeting, that I could have a double mastectomy. I felt, in preference to going through the ache two times, I would rather undergo all the struggling at the same time.”
Seamus, who is commonly talking, is pretty reticent; he additionally decided to speak openly approximately this tough time in his life. “I’d seen others who’d had cancer who did not speak approximately it, and I did not think that helped them,” he explains. “Within an afternoon or two, we had told the circle of relatives, who were very greatly surprised.” A fortnight later, Seamus is admitted to the medical institution. When he got here around from the anesthetic, he changed into somewhat disorientated. He additionally realized that it wasn’t his chest area that bothered him, but his lower back.
“They thought that it was probably due to the hardness of the operating table,” says Seamus. “But that soon disappeared.” He additionally needed to get used to the reality that he had drains in each breast. They had to save you from a buildup of fluid that could hinder restoration and prevent contamination. Once he was discharged from the health center, Seamus had to go back every few days to have the website drained.
Following surgical treatment, which also entailed removing some of the lymph nodes, issues have been raised approximately the possibility that Seamus had inherited a defective gene, referred to as the breast cancer BRCA gene. Having BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 means a significantly elevated risk of developing this form of cancer. While Seamus was taken aback, he wasn’t surprised. “Cancer is very normal in my overdue father’s huge family,” he volunteers. “Probably half of them died from cancer.” He is presently undergoing genetic testing to get a new perception of the problem.
He also found out that 25 of the 30 lymph nodes eliminated at some stage in the surgical procedure were diseased, so he needed to begin chemotherapy as quickly as possible. Specialist oncologist Patrick Morris provided him with types of remedies, and he chose the more aggressive technique because it turned into deemed to be the “Rolls Royce” of most cancer remedies.
Once it began, Seamus struggled. “I observed it was very difficult,” he admits. “I lost my urge for food for all sorts of meals, and I couldn’t sleep. I’d sit down at the table. However, I could not consume dinner. So I’d need to come again later and attempt once more.” He did so because he had been warned that he must be very careful not to lose an excessive amount of weight, as that would impact his restoration. Following four months of chemotherapy, Seamus got a two-week break before starting radiotherapy five days every week for five weeks, under consultant radiation oncologist Clare Faul at St Luke’s Centre at Beaumont Hospital.
One Sunday, after a week of treatment, he felt fluid building up in his ears, so he consulted an emergency medical doctor, who prescribed medication. Later that day, Judy went out on an errand. When she again some hours later, she found her husband in a coma on the ground.
Having been referred to emergency services, Seamus turned in and rushed to Beaumont Hospital, where he changed within no time diagnosed with meningitis. A thick line is inserted in his neck to make it without a doubt certain dtthatugs that had to save his life were introduced competently. Seamus woke up two days later. He was feeling pretty well, given that he’d been at death’s door. “I in no way realized you might die without knowing it,” he says enigmatically. He says his healing may additionally have been assisted through the fact that,t as an “added precaution,” his GP had given him a shot of vaccine to save you from pneumonia while he was getting his flu jab. “I have become informed that this likely decreased the impact of meningitis,” says Seamus. For a subsequent couple of weeks, he turned into ferried from his bed in Beaumont Hospital to St Luke’s Centre to finish his essential radiotherapy.
And even though Seamus ought to rarely stroll following meningitis, he’s now up and about, looking relatively in shape and healthy. This entire experience has undoubtedly been difficult and existence-changing for him and his circle of relatives. But what is very apparent is the gratitude he feels.
“The remedy I was given at Beaumont was second to none,” he says emphatically. “The porters, physios, nurses, doctors, and experts had surely been notable, in both the personal and the public sectors. They sorted me brilliantly. But what most impressed me turned into the empathy that they have for sufferers – it’s quite exceptional.” Beaumont Hospital Foundation has released a €1m fundraising appeal to finish a standalone breast cancer sanatorium. To guide the campaign, see beaumontfundraising. Ie
