Real men wear pink - #lakewoodnews

Breast cancer, a disease generally associated with women, also impacts the lives of many men:Raymond Mencini, a breast radiologist at St. Anthony Hospital, diagnosed his wife with breast cancer seven years ago.Denver resident John Dye's wife was first diagnosed with breast cancer 25 years ago, just one month after the couple married.Highlands Ranch resident Marvin Kokes lost his mother to breast cancer when she was 62 years old.These men are part of a new Real Men Wear Pink campaign to bring awareness about breast cancer in the community of men and raise money for the American Cancer Society.This October -- National Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- 19 prominent men throughout Denver will sport the color pink every day as well as raise a minimum of $2,500 each. The money will go towards the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Oct. 23 and, ultimately, towards research on the disease."It's an important cause," Mencini said, "until we eradicate it."About one in eight U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer -- which means the cancer has grown into the body's normal tissue -- over the course of her lifetime, Breastcancer.org reports. In 2016, an estimated 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women, along with 61,000 new cases of non-invasive -- also called in situ -- breast cancer. This type of breast cancer stays within the milk ducts in the breast.Men are also at risk. In 2016, the American Cancer Society estimates about 2,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among men and about 440 men will die from the disease."It's not just a women's disease," said Cristina Johnson, community manager of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. "Both men and women can be affected."Mencini, medical director of St. Anthony Breast Center, saw a different, more personal side of breast cancer when his wife, Gail, battled it. She's now a seven-year survivor."It's a passion for me that women get the best, most compassionate care they can," said Mencini, who is also chairman of the Centura Health Physician Group board.A huge part of the fight against breast cancer is attitude and having a support system, Gail said. She spends a lot of time talking to patients."You get this big 'C' diagnosis and it's terrifying," she said. "You don't know what to do."Mencini wears a pink tie every day, he said, so continuing it through the month of October will not be difficult.Dye, executive vice president and general counsel of Western Union, was 27 and newly married when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease had spread to her lymph nodes and doctors gave her a 30 to 40 percent chance of survival. She's been cancer-free for 25 years.The disease affected everything, from having kids to their quality of life, Dye said. The couple ended up using surrogate pregnancy to have children."It's a challenge for spouses as well," Dye said. "People need advice -- they need advocates."Which is why it's easy for him to support the Real Men Wear Pink campaign, he said.Kokes, senior vice president of industry and member services for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, is shopping to expand his pink wardrobe for the campaign, he said. He's also considering painting his office pink.Kokes grew up on a ranch east of Sterling, about 128 miles from Denver. His mother died of breast cancer about 14 years ago."She was the matriarch of the family," Kokes said. "She raised six kids."The research and effort it takes to find a cure for the disease requires money, he said. He saw the campaign as an opportunity to give back."Cancer," he said, "touches everyone -- from all walks of life."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Real-men-wear-pink,236538