Man's friend twisted his nipple as a joke – and it led to a breast cancer diagnosis
A 62-year-old man was diagnosed with breast cancer after a friend twisted his nipple during a boys' trip to Las Vegas.
Robert Pfleghardt, of Vienna, Virginia, was left in pain following the drunken joke back in 2021 that actually ended up saving his life.
Speaking about how it all happened on his lads vacation he went on, Pfleghardt said: "They are good friends of mine and we were being silly boys having drinks.
"He'd probably say I started it, but my friend reached over to me and gave me a 'titty twister' - where he pinched my nipple. It really hurt."
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He ignored the pain, but continued rubbing his chest the following week when he felt a lump the size of an eraser and sat right next to his nipple.
The retired accountant continued: "It was kind of weird but I just blew it off. Guys don't get breast cancer, so I thought nothing of it."
However, it played on his mind, prompting him to eventually get it checked out. During the appointment, a nurse practitioner took a look and immediately noted it was something they needed to research.
Staff then ordered a mammogram for him to take a closer look at the lump on his chest - but with fewer than one percent of all breast cancers affecting men in the US, staff assumed he was a woman.
Pfleghardt added: "It was really weird getting a mammogram, you kind of laugh. They called out for Mrs Pfleghardt instead of Mr Pfleghardt."
Staff even called out that a man was walking through as there were women were getting scans with their tops off.
After the procedure, the worst news was confirmed to him - that he had breast cancer and on top of that they were concerned the disease had already spread to his lymph nodes.
"I laughed a little at first. I thought that’s kind of funny for a dude to have breast cancer," he recalled.
"I probably weigh around 180 [pounds], I’m not heavy, I don’t have man boobs or anything."
The reality soon set in and then Pfleghardt went into 'zombie mode' and didn't know what to do
He continued: "I decided not to tell my children, or my in laws, or family. It was just me and my wife who knew. It was Christmas time, I didn't want to ruin it."
Tests over the 2021 holiday season confirmed the cancer had spread to one lymph node, prompting doctors to recommend a double mastectomy.
"It was happening so quickly, and I was scared, I had never had surgery. The concept of someone cutting into my chest was intimidating," Pfleghardt remembered.
"So based on my nerves, I chose a lumpectomy instead. If I could go back now I'd probably have got the mastectomy."
Following his surgery in January 2022, doctors felt the lumpectomy had clear lines, which was a positive sign. However, they still recommended 29 days of radiation therapy to ensure the cancer was fully removed.
He was later put on Tamoxifen to help keep the disease under control, which came with side effects like hot flashes.
Now, as Pfleghardt is preparing for a full body scan this October, and with five years having passed since his initial diagnosis, he wants people to be more aware that breast cancer can effect men.
He added: "I think a lot more men get breast cancer than they know and it spreads without them realising, and then they die from something else.
"Because people don't know they can get it. And then they don't know what to look for.
"Me and my friends still laugh about how we found out I had cancer. My friend that pinched me saved my life. I wouldn't have found the lump otherwise and it would have spread.
"Boys trips save lives."
Joe Yates