October is Breast Cancer Awareness month but women are not the only ones who can get breast cancer -- men can as well.

Douglass Bermingham says after a swim, he was toweling off when he noticed a lump.

The 64-year-old Bedford resident thought it was a cist when he first discovered it while on vacation 12 years ago. His doctor diagnosed him with breast cancer when he returned home.

The disease had already taken the life of his younger sister. He says of the six

kids in his family, five carry the BRAC2 gene.

He went through 18 weeks of chemotherapy followed by surgery.

Bermingham's wife Ann tried to keep his mind off of how sick he was with fun getaways.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is 100 times less common among white men than white women. It is 70 times less common among Black men than Black women.

For men, the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is one in 833.

Bermingham is a survivor but he does not take anything for granted. He goes for checkups every year.

"I go in for a mammogram next week. I'll be the only guy in the reception area, which is fine with me," said Bermingham.

The American Cancer Society estimates 520 men the United States will die from breast cancer this year.