Even though I'm a man, when I was 16 years old, and being a competitive swimmer, my bare chest was always exposed. I held several national records at the time. But I suddenly developed a lump in my left breast. It didn't hurt, but it looked terrible. I would always keep a towel draped over my left shoulder to hide it. Being of the age at where how you looked was so important, I went to the doctor with it. This was in 1956. He took a biopsy and diagnosed it at first as gynecomastia. I wasn't sure but I sure wanted to look normal for all the girls. So he decided to remove the left mammary gland just for safety sake. it turned out to be benign, yet I had a five inch scar that almost looked as bad as the lump itself. But at least our minds were relieved that it wasn't cancer. As I have grown older it still looks terrible, but I'm beyond the age of being afraid of how I look. So it can happen to anyone at any age. I thank God it was benign and we had it removed.

Jerry Masters
Jackson, MS