Barranco is healthy 12 years after defeating breast cancer. (Contributed)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each Tuesday this month, Alabama NewsCenter presents a story of survival focusing on people who have inspired others as they strived to overcome the disease.

The series continues with an update about Montgomery’s David Barranco, an owner of Chappy’s Deli restaurants in three south Alabama communities. Diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago, with no family history of cancer, Barranco has made it his mission to promote understanding and education of this little-discussed men’s health issue.  

A hug may have saved David Barranco’s life.

Barranco, a longtime owner of Chappy’s Delis, has always stayed on top of his business issues. Barranco was too busy living and working to be alarmed by signs of illness.

It is not surprising that Barranco tried to ignore the symptoms when he found a tiny, pea-sized lump in his right breast.

Serving enticing food by Chappy’s Deli is Barranco’s life. (Contributed)

“I was one of the lucky ones,” Barranco said. “God gave me some pain, and it hurt if I brushed up against something, or say, someone hugged me tight, I felt it. I told my wife, and she wouldn’t let it go. She insisted that I see a doctor – she’s that kind of wife.”

Dr. Kirby Bland, a renowned breast cancer specialist at UAB’s Kirklin Clinic, said Barranco very likely owes his life to his wife’s persistence.

“A lot of times, when men finally make it into a doctor’s office, they are at stage 2 or 3 breast cancer, or it has even metastasized,” said Bland, who served 16 years as UAB Hospital’s surgeon-in-chief and chair of the Department of Surgery for the UAB School of Medicine. “Women get in earlier for treatment.”

“I was the oddball in the family to have it,” Barranco said. “It was out of the clear blue. None of my immediate family ever had breast cancer. I hate it now that my children and grandchildren have to fill out health forms saying that they have a close family relative who had breast cancer.”

Fighting hard with serious treatment

His beautiful family gave Barranco the strength to fight breast cancer. (Contributed)

Twelve years ago, Barranco endured 20 weeks of chemotherapy at Montgomery Cancer Center.

“We are a big, Catholic-Italian family,” Barranco said. “My wife, Jeanne, was my rock.”

On the day of his mastectomy, Barranco said, words and terms that had been meaningless became significant: Stage 1, invasive ductile carcinoma, no lymph nodes involved and estrogen positive.

He lost his hair and occasionally experienced a slight “brain fog” during chemo. Nevertheless, he kept working.

“I’m kind of a Type A workaholic,” said Barranco. With his brothers, he owns Chappy’s Deli restaurants in Auburn, Montgomery and Prattville. “I had chemo on Friday and, by Monday, I’d be dragging. But I wanted the distraction of work and the challenges. There were days when I made myself keep on going.”

“My wife and family pumped me up – the family came to see me when I sat in my chair after I had my treatments,” he said. “There were lots of cards, letters and abundant prayers.”

Men’s battle – though less frequent – is as real as women’s

In 2016, the American Cancer Society reported there were 2,600 new cases of invasive breast cancers in men. Though breast cancer is 100 times less common in men, about 450 men die from the disease each year. The average age of men’s diagnoses is 68: Barranco was diagnosed at 50.

“One in 100 men will have a breast cancer,” said Bland, who has treated one male patient with breast cancer in the past six months. During his 44-year career, Bland has treated about 50 cases of male breast cancer.

“Men are not as fastidious as women,” said Bland, who was listed among the 2015 Top Cancer Doctors in U.S. News and World Report. “Oftentimes, women with a mass that is growing will get another opinion, even if a doctor has recommended keeping a watch on it. They’ll get a mammogram.

“Breast cancer is the No. 1 cancer in women, and it’s the No. 2 killer,” Bland said. “Women have heard the statistics for years, and are quicker to act.”

Barranco urges men to monitor their health, for themselves and their families. (Contributed)

Luckily, Bland said, the numbers of men with breast cancer have remained stable. Men’s risk factors include aging; family history – men with a sister, mother or brother who have had cancer are at higher risk; and genetic traits – those who carry a defective or mutated gene such as BRA2 have a six in 100 chance of getting breast cancer, and men with a BCA1 mutation have a one in 100 chance.

“Gene mutations in male breast cancer are very common,” Bland said. “There are different families of genes that cause mutations.”

Bland said there are “lots of obese males in Alabama” whose weight provides a direct link to breast cancer. Alabama is ranked the sixth-most obese state in the 2015 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

“It’s thought that fat cells convert male hormones into female hormones, and that obese males have a higher amount of female hormones,” he said. Gynecomastia, enlarged breasts in men, is caused by an imbalance of estrogens and androgens, more common in adolescents and the elderly.

“If I see a gynecomastia with an associated mass in a man’s breast, we’ll do a mammogram and biopsy,” Bland said.

Barranco shares his message of hope – and a happy ending

Auburn University is a special love for the Barrancos; here, David poses with daughter Laura on campus. (Contributed)

Between his “D-Day” – discovery day – and mastectomy, Barranco said he learned many invaluable lessons, including how important family is in fighting one’s battle. His then-60-member family rallied around him, surrounding him with love and with prayer.

“Almost every family member altered their plans to come and see me that day,” he said.

He tries to provide that same loving support to others by sharing his experiences with breast cancer by speaking to several groups yearly. Chappy’s Deli supports the Cancer Wellness Foundation of Central Alabama – Barranco is on the board – along with the Joy to Life Foundation in Montgomery, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk and other organizations.

“I take every opportunity I can to tell others about the importance of early diagnosis and treatment,” he said.