A friend’s cruel prank made him cry “Ow!”—and helped save a man in his 60s by leading to early breast cancer detection [Health Talk]

[Financial News] The story has emerged of a man whose friends’ seemingly harmless prank became the decisive moment that led to the early detection of a deadly disease and saved his life.
Friend pinched his nipple... Pain lingered, so he went to the hospital and doctors found a lump the size of an eraser
Robert Flegghart, 62, who lives in Virginia, traveled to Las Vegas with friends five years ago. During the trip, one friend played a prank known as a “Purple Nurple,” forcefully twisting and pinching his nipple.
The prank seemed like it would end as a simple mishap, but the sharp pain did not subside for a long time after the trip. Concerned, Flegghart went to the hospital, where medical staff found a lump about the size of an eraser in his chest.
A mammogram showed that the lump was breast cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes. At the time of his diagnosis, he was deeply shocked, saying, “I thought men couldn’t get breast cancer.” He also encountered unfamiliar situations at the hospital, where male patients were rare: staff mistakenly called him “Mrs. Flegghart” and, out of consideration for female patients who were changing, announced, “A man is coming through.”
Instead of having both breasts removed, Flegghart underwent breast-conserving surgery in January 2022, in which only the tumor was removed. The tumor was cleanly removed as a single mass rather than in a web-like pattern. But because it had spread to his lymph nodes, he underwent a month of radiation therapy and took tamoxifen, a hormone therapy drug, to prevent recurrence. During this process, he also experienced menopause-like side effects, including hot flashes and night sweats.
Flegghart stressed, “Male breast cancer often spreads before people realize they have it. If my friend hadn’t given me that mischievous pinch, I wouldn’t have found the tumor, and the cancer would have spread throughout my body.” He added that he was grateful to his friends, telling them, “That prank during the trip saved my life.”

Like women, men are born with some mammary gland and ductal tissue. Although it does not develop as it does in women after puberty, ductal tissue remains beneath the nipples, and cancer cells can develop due to hormonal imbalances or genetic factors.
In men, breast fat tissue is thin, so even a small tumor carries a high risk of quickly invading or spreading to the skin, chest wall muscles, or lymph nodes in the armpit.
According to the U.S. National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and other sources, male breast cancer occurs at a rate of about one case per 100,000 people, making its incidence far lower than among women. However, men may not suspect cancer even when they feel a lump in their chest, making it easy to miss the window for diagnosis and treatment. As a result, the mortality rate is reported to be about 19% higher than among women.
Key risk factors for male breast cancer include older age, genetic mutations, family history, previous radiation exposure, a history of hormone therapy, obesity, and testicular conditions. Experts advise men, too, to seek prompt medical attention from a specialist if they notice any abnormal signs, such as a firm lump around the nipple, skin dimpling, pain, or discharge.
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter