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Breast cancer in men is rare, but can happen.

Thomas “Tom” Cole, 71, never imagined he would be diagnosed with breast cancer. Cole and his wife were traveling for a wedding when he noticed an abnormal lump on his left breast.

“I took a shower one evening and felt this lump on my breast,” Cole explained. “I told my wife that it didn’t feel right and asked her to look at it.”

Cole’s wife urged him to make an appointment with his primary care provider as soon as they returned home.

In June 2016, Pattie Archer had her routine mammogram at BSA Harrington Breast Center. Afterward, she received a call asking her to come in the next day and go over the report. She had a feeling it was cancer.

Pattie was diagnosed with Stage 0 breast cancer and needed surgery and radiation.

One Sunday night last July, Parie Donaldson found a lump in her breast. It had been eight years since she had gone in for a routine mammogram and she inherently knew it wasn’t good. “It was a pretty big lump and I just had a feeling immediately it could be breast cancer,” she said. “I called BSA Harrington Breast Center first thing Monday morning and they told me to come in the next morning to have it checked.”

Today is Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day! This is a day to recognize our food and nutrition experts who are committed to improving the health of their patients, clients and communities. Harrington Cancer Center’s Registered Dietitian, Whitney Warminski, RD, CSP, LD-Clinical Dietitian, shares with us why she chose to work for Harrington and what she loves most about working in nutrition.

Here is what Whitney had to say:

When Paige Reinke went to Harrington Breast Center for her routine mammogram last November, she felt like something was off. “I go every year to get my mammogram, but afterwards, I returned to work and felt as though something wasn’t right,” said Paige. “They called me the very next morning and I went back for another mammogram and ultrasound. They didn’t like what they saw, so they wanted biopsies done.” Paige went back the next day and had 15 biopsies taken.

As Patricia 'Trish' Hardin prepared for Christmas, she went in for her annual mammogram on December 17. A few days later, she received a call from her gynecologist, telling her she needed to go to the Harrington Breast Center for a diagnostic ultrasound. “I had my ultrasound done on December 23^rd and was told I would need a biopsy, so Christmas was a really sad time because there was a lot of uncertainty,” Patricia shares.

Diane Brown, 66, always wanted to have a family. “I have 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild and I’ve never been pregnant!” she shares of how her family came to be when in her 20s it didn’t look as promising. “I had a total hysterectomy at the age of 26.” She later adopted a daughter, Aaryn, and a son, Trent. Three more children joined her family when she married her husband, Larry.

It’s commonly known that smoking can lead to different health risks, especially lung cancer. But did you know that smoking is reported to also increase your risk of death if you develop breast cancer?

“You have cancer” is a phrase you never forget hearing for the first time. Imagine hearing it three times. Susan Spurlock-Rawlins did and wants others who hear those same words to not only have hope, but also the resources they need. Now a three-time cancer survivor, Susan is helping to honor all cancer survivors through her advocacy as the state lead for the Cancer Action Network with the American Cancer Society.