Let’s hear it for the boys.
What started as an innocent prank between guy friends ended as a potentially life-saving discovery for one man.
Now, the recipient of the practical joke is issuing an important warning to other men about an oft-overlooked, yet deadly disease.
While on a boys trip to Las Vegas, Robert Pfleghardt made a gruesome health discovery when one friend pranked him. Robert Pfleghardt / SWNS
While on a trip to Las Vegas five years ago, Robert Pfleghardt and his friends were being “silly boys” and engaging in some age-old horseplay when one twisted his nipple.
The “purple nurple” took a surprising turn when Pfleghardt experienced sharp pain that lasted well beyond the trip, prompting a visit to his doctor, who discovered a lump the size of an eraser.
Thanks to a mammogram, the lump was found to be breast cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes, a diagnosis that shocked the 62-year-old, telling SWNS, “Guys don’t get breast cancer.”
Even doctors initially thought Pfleghardt was a woman when he went in for his mammogram, an experience he called highly unusual.
“They called out for Mrs Pfleghardt instead of Mr Pfleghardt,” the retired Virginia local said. “They said ‘man coming through’ because there were a lot of women, and some of them were getting scans with their tops off.”
The rates for men receiving breast cancer diagnoses are low compared to women, with roughly 1 out of 100,000 males getting the potentially killer disease.
Several risk factors can increase the chances, including older age, genetic mutations, family history, previous radiation or hormone therapy treatments, obesity and certain conditions that affect the testicles which are also associated with increased breast cancer risk.
After a friend twisted his nipple, Pfleghardt found a lump, which led to a diagnosis of breast cancer, a rarity in men. Robert Pfleghardt / SWNS
However, they do face about a 19% higher mortality rate, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
This could be due to the fact that men are less likely to assume a lump in the chest is cancer, thereby delaying seeking diagnosis and treatment.
While Pfleghardt’s doctors initially recommended a double mastectomy — a procedure to remove both breasts — his nerves swayed him to undergo a lumpectomy in January of 2022 instead.
Although the lumpectomy “had really clear lines — it was just one mass — not like a spider web,” doctors still advised a month of radiation therapy.
Afterward, he was prescribed tamoxifen, a drug used to prevent breast cancer that can cause menopause-like side effects including hot flashes, night sweats and uncomfortable dryness.
While Pfleghardt recently underwent a full-body scan to determine the state of his cancer, he credits the painful prank with helping him catch the harrowing health issue early on.
He also forewarned others that “a lot more men get breast cancer than they know and it spreads without them realizing.”
“Me and my friends still laugh about how we found out I had cancer,” he added. “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.”