Mens Breast Cancer
Awareness Week
Spreading the message
Pat Washburn undertakes one woman
campaign to warn men of breast cancer
By BLAKE STUBBS
Of The Record
Marlyn Washburn spent his life teaching --
in both the classroom and as a principal.
Now it is his wife Pat who has taken up the
cause of educating others following her hus-
bands death from breast cancer..
Marlyn passed away in May of this year at
the age of 66. Since then, Pat has led a cam-
paign to raise awareness about mens breast
cancer.
So many people came up to me after
Marlyn died and said they didnt know men
could get breast cancer, said Pat. There just is
not a lot of information about it out there.
Pat, the former Lawton city clerk, now lives
in Omaha. She has traveled around the state of
Nebraska as well as different parts of Iowa to
spread information on the disease.
That message is being delivered in a variety
of ways. Pat estimates she has sent out over
7,500 pamphlets that give information on mens
breast cancer. She also attends events at schools
or business to hand out the flyers and answer
questions.
And a new wrap for Marlyns Dodge Dart
gives her a mobile billboard. It says Breast
Cancer Does Not Discriminate: Men 2.
However, she finds personal testimony to be
the most effective way of spreading the mes-
sage.
Im not a public speaker, but Im so pas-
sionate about this that I will walk up to anybody
and talk with them, she says. I was standing
in line at the airport the other day with three
men. I only had a few seconds, but we talked
about breast cancer. Two of them knew men
could get it, but one of them didnt.
Marlyn was among those who did not know
men could be affected by breast cancer.
It was a routine check up for his diabetes
that eventually led to the diagnosis. Initially the
only symptom was pain in his shoulder, which
he and Pat believed came from his golf.
The results from the blood test concerned
doctors, and an ultrasound and biopsy followed.
It was revealed that Marlyn had stage 4
breast cancer, which had spread to his liver,
lungs, kidneys, lymph nodes and brain.
Radiation and chemotherapy treatments
began immediately. But after six months,
October 15-21
Both men and women have
breast tissue than can devel-
op cancer cells. Symptoms
of breast cancer in men
include: a lump or swelling,
skin dimpling, nipple retrac-
tion, redness or scaling of
the nipple or skin, discharge
from the nipple. The only
way to accurately diagnose
breast cancer is through a
biopsy.
Marlyn had lost his battle with cancer.
Just a few years earlier, Marlyn had sup-
ported his daughter Barbara Lovercheak in her
breast cancer fight. Her cancer was diagnosed
early, and she is a cancer survivor.
However, that early detection does not
happen often for men, as many are unaware of
the threat from breast cancer.
Any noticeable changes in the breast or
nipple area should be reported to a health care
physician.
While battling the disease, Marlyn did
what he could to educate others. That included
having a personalized license plate made that
reads MEN 2, and has the pink ribbon of breast
cancer awareness.
His wife has now made it her mission to
carry on that cause.
I told his children that Im not going to let
him die in vain. He was an educator, and that
should be his legacy, said Pat.
I believe Marlyn is with me every step of
the way. He shows up in so many ways. He
was a very good man, and he treated me like a
queen.
But what also motivates her is the painful
struggle the family endured at the end of
Marlyns life. He spent 34 days in the hospital
with Pat by his side for much of that time.
Even if one family is spared the nightmare
we faced with Marlyns breast cancer, my
campaign to educate others will have been
worth it.