Breast cancer awareness month makes many Alaskans think about woman in their lives who have battled the disease. One percent of breast cancer patients, however, are in fact men.

UAA's College of Business and Public Policy Interim Dean Bear Baker seems to live up to his Alaska themed name.

"Does it bother me," Baker says. "No. I'm a pretty vocal SOB."

Baker is not talking about his name though, but being an Alaskan man whom, like his wife, proudly survived breast cancer.

"I felt a lump under my left nipple in the shower in late May of 2005," Baker says. "I saw my doctor within 2 weeks."

Doctor after doctor told Baker his lump was not a big deal. Finally, six moths later, another surgeon agreed the take a biopsy. It was cancer.

"It wasn't too hard to find," Baker says. "It was easy to see and feel on the ultrasound. It was easy to see on the mammogram."

If male breast cancer is suspected men also receive mammograms. The result Baker's doctor shared with him is still as clear as what his mammogram's picture showed.

Recalling his doctor's words Baker said, "Sorry it's Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. A fancy was of saying breast cancer. Probably the most common form of breast cancer."

Even though men only make up one-percent of breast cancer diagnoses, they still have a risk because every man has some breast tissue.

"So, if there's only a little bit of breast tissue, it's almost always just behind the nipple." Piper Breast Center

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Radiologist Deborah Day says.

Surgeon Daniel Dunn believes men with a breast lump should always assume it is cancerous, until proven otherwise, because men share women's breast cancer risk.

"In the United States last year, about 180,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and about 2,000 men," Dunn says.

Most of the time men's treatment is a mastectomy. That is what happened to Baker. Then he spent the next five months in chemotherapy.

"I was still in chemo, and found out men couldn't run," Baker says.

So Baker pushed to have the rules changed. To this day he is the only man running in the Alaska Run for Women, proudly wearing pink.

"I'm surprised there's no pink ribbon on this lapel," Baker says. "I wear one 100 percent of the time. The pink ribbon's associated with breast cancer, and the blue ribbon's associated with prostate cancer. I don't see any sense in mixing the two."

Baker does not consider himself in remission, "I prefer to think I'm cured, but pick anything you like."

Baker admits he is rare, "I want other people to know. Most men say nothing about it. They're embarrassed to have what essentially as I say has been essentially labeled a female disease."

That is why bear Baker continues to fight, urging men to be their own advocates. Because if he had not been his own, Baker believes he might not be here to fight for others.

"Be persistent," Baker says. "Realize it's your body and if there's a change by gosh go find out why."

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