Husband and wife both battling breast cancer

Male breast cancer facts

Sources: American Cancer Society, (www.cancer.org); National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (www.cancer.gov)

MONROE — If laughter is truly the best medicine, Mike and Barbara Welsh are surely well on their way to recovery.

Their optimism and good humor are how both of them are dealing with breast cancer, something they both described as “devastating.”

The Deneen Avenue couple have been married for 41 years, and both have discovered they had breast cancer and have undergone surgery and other treatments in the past year.

“You’ve got to laugh at it,” said Mike Welsh, 62. “Having cancer, depression sets in. You have good days, bad days and better days. We’re having fun with it.”

Barbara Welsh, 63, discovered a lump on her right breast in December 2008 and had it removed in January 2009. “To top that, I’m losing my hearing, which is a side effect of chemotherapy,” she said.

“We found mine in June 2009 and they did a modified radical mastectomy (on his right breast) on July 22,” said Mike Welsh, who is a retired AK Steel bricklayer. “I wish they’d put pockets on the other side of shirts,” he joked. “You have to have fun. It is what it is and you can’t do anything about it.”

Breast cancer not just a women’s disease

After getting into his vehicle one day, Mike Welsh said something felt uncomfortable as he strapped the seat belt across his chest.

Several months later, Welsh, whose wife, Barbara, was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, asked his physician if men could get breast cancer. His doctor referred him to the Compton Center at Atrium Medical Center in Middletown.

“The woman at the desk was surprised and asked ‘you’re here for what?’ ” he said of the good-natured ribbing he received when he arrived to get a mammogram and ultrasound.

“You never hear about men getting breast cancer,” he said.

That day he also learned why women dislike mammograms after getting one.

A few days after the tests, he learned he did have breast cancer.

He had surgery in July and will be getting with his doctor soon to determine the next steps in his treatment , which may include chemotherapy and radiation.

Welsh said he’s sharing his story about having breast cancer because if no one ever speaks up, men won’t have their doctors check them for it.

“If I could help 10 people or 100, that’s a start,” he said.

“You can’t stick your head in the sand forever,” he said. “Someone has to take the bull by the horns so others can be more aware.”

Welsh said those who are dealing with cancer should always feel free to change doctors and get more opinions if they feel it’s necessary.

Since the Welshes have been dealing with their breast cancers, they have found many people in the community who have been supportive as well as keeping them in their prayers. Welsh said his brother Pat, a Roman Catholic priest, is among their bigger supporters.

The couple have found ways to keep their humor and spirits intact as they go through their treatments in fighting the disease.

Barbara Welsh, who had worked in a day care center, said she’s found some crazy hats with hair coverings to wear because she had lost her hair to chemotherapy. While Mike Welsh is waiting to learn about his future treatments, his wife is now starting radiation treatments.

“I glow in the dark,” she said with a laugh.

“I’m going to set her outside for Halloween,” Mike Welsh joked.

“We took a vow ‘for better or worse’ and if this is ‘worse,’ then we’re doing fine,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or erichter@coxohio.com.