Local man battles breast cancer: "It was a shock to me."

Keith Skelton, local educator at Southland Elementary, had no idea men could develop breast cancer.

“It was a shock to me,” said Skelton. “It just blew my mind. I couldn’t believe it. How did I get cancer?”

Skelton’s wife at the time was a traveling nurse and during summer breaks from teaching he traveled with her.

“We were in California, about a year prior to the diagnosis,” recalled Skelton. “She felt a knot about the size of your thumbnail on my chest and she told me to get it checked.”

“I didn’t think too much about it, so I just put it on the back burner,” said Skelton. “I knew if it was something serious I couldn’t get treatment in California because we weren’t going

to be staying there but about ten weeks at a time.”

Ten weeks is the average stay for traveling nurse’s assignments.

“I just put it off,” continued Skelton. “We went several other places and when we got to York, Maine I noticed it getting a little bigger and kind of sore at times.”

Skelton had to leave the assignment early and returned to Kennett to follow up on the knot.

“I made an appointment with my family doctor, Dr. Jain and when I went in there he saw where the nipple area had dropped in and he just started shaking his head and told me I had to go to Jonesboro,” remembered Skelton. “He didn’t like the looks of it.”

An appointment was made the very next day and Skelton was scheduled for a biopsy.

“They took five biopsies of it and determined it was a ductal carcinoma,” informed Skelton.

Breast cancer is about 100 times less common among men than among women.

The American Cancer Society estimates for breast cancer in men in the United States for 2017 are:

About 2,470 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed.

About 460 men will die from breast cancer.

“One out of one thousand men get this cancer,” said Skelton. “I just happened to be the lucky one in this area.”

“A million things run through your mind,” shared Skelton. “What did I do? What had I done over the years to cause it?”

The doctors informed him it wasn’t environmental.

“I didn’t get it from drinking the water, smoking or whatever,” said Skelton. “It was just a chemical imbalance in my body. I was estrogen positive. I produced too much estrogen and that’s basically how ductal carcinoma forms.”

The 54 year old Senath area native was scheduled for surgery but the surgery was delayed due to the unfortunate loss of his marriage.

Instead the medical team began with chemo treatment.

“They started doing the chemo,” said Skelton. “I went through twelve weeks, which is twenty-four rounds of chemo. It made my hair fall out, but that treatment went pretty good.”

Skelton weighing in around 330 pounds prior to chemo lost about 100 pounds during this process.

After chemo was finished a mastectomy was performed.

Following surgery a port was inserted into Skelton and difficulties followed.

“I had two taken out, three put in because they got infected,” said Skelton. “I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to do. It caused some real problems.”

Skelton acquired a MRSA infection and spent five days in the hospital.

“It was right in line with my heart,” recalled Skelton. “They were afraid it would get to my blood and there wouldn’t be too much they could do. I was running a 104.8 temp. They told me I was lucky to even make it to the hospital.”

Skelton survived his bout with the deadly infection and prepared for radiation .

“I had thirty-five treatments of radiation,” said Skelton. “We started radiation after I started school. I was basically getting over the mastectomy as I was getting ready to return to my job.”

Everyday after work Skelton drove to Jonesboro for radiation treatment.

“I’d stay there for about thirty minutes and do the treatment and drive home,” said Skelton. “Every day, five days a week. I did this all by myself.”

Skelton received his last radiation treatment on October 2.

Skelton advocates continuing to work while being treated for cancer.

“I don’t see how people can just sit at home all that time, because there’s too much stuff that runs through your head.”

Skelton continued, “The first thing is death, is this going to kill me? When you stare mortality in the face, it’s humbling.”

Skelton suggests to keep a good attitude and stay as busy as possible.

“I’m not laying down for it,” said Skelton.

Skelton advises to get check-ups.

“I’m saying to the men get checked out as soon as possible. Go get you a mammogram. You can still be a man. Swallow your pride because your pride isn’t going to count for much when you’re sitting there looking at a cancer diagnosis.”

Skelton suggests to eat healthy and get plenty of exercise.

Reflecting back on the experience Skelton states it was a bad deal.

“But it’s not the end. I’m in the second chapter.”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” shared Skelton. “And after cancer everything else is pretty small.”