Ex-Kiss drummer: Breast cancer not just for women
Tom Cular
11/18/2009 6:06:54 AM
By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press Writer
Lying in bed one night in 2007, Peter Criss felt something strange: a small
lump on his left breast.
"I thought, `It's a nodule, I'm a guy, I don't think it's anything more than
that,'" he said. "The more I messed with it, the bigger it got and the more
it hurt, and that started really scaring me."
The former Kiss drummer went to the doctor, underwent some tests and a
surgical procedure to remove the lump. A week later, the doctor called. It
was breast cancer.
"My heart hit my stomach and my knees buckled," Criss recalled.
The good news was that Criss had caught the disease at its earliest stage.
After a second surgery to remove it in March 2008, he would not need
chemotherapy, radiation or medication.
Now, the once-costumed rocker who performed in his Catman makeup is speaking
out about his illness to encourage other men to get tested for breast cancer
_ a disease more commonly associated with women, who are routinely urged to
get regular mammograms at a certain age _ the moment they suspect something
might be amiss.
"You need to immediately tell your wife, your girlfriend, your boyfriend,
whatever," he said. "The more you sit around and say, `Well, it's going to
go away,' that time could be the time that you save your life."
Men account for only 1 percent of all breast cancer cases, but about 2,000
men develop it each year, and 440 die from it, according to the National
Cancer Institute.
Dr. Alexander Swistel, who treated Criss, praised his decision to get
checked out immediately after sensing something was wrong.
"He's a great spokesperson, and he's very bright about this kind of thing,"
Swistel said. "To have someone like him come forward and show that there's
life after this is a wonderful thing. Rather than be the typical guy and
say, `Ah, forget it,' he moved on it right away."
There should be no stigma attached to having the disease, or seeking help
for it, Criss said. Other tough guys, including "Shaft" actor Richard
Roundtree, have spoken out about having breast cancer.
"It's something we think guys don't get," Criss said. "Guys get prostate
cancer, heart attacks. Men are men _ women get breast cancer. Or so I
thought.
"It has nothing to do with macho," said Criss, best known for the 1976
ballad "Beth," which remains Kiss' biggest hit to date. "There's no tougher
guy than me. I was born in Brooklyn, I was in gangs, I did the whole
battling thing my whole life. I think a man is a man if he steps forward and
says, `There's something bad going on and I need to deal with it."
His doctor says the 63-year-old Wall Township resident is cancer-free today.
Criss' treatment gave him an up-close look at what women have endured for
ages.
"I sat in the waiting room, and there were all these women who looked like
they weren't going to be here long _ no hair, scarves _ a place a guy
doesn't think he's ever going to be sitting in one day," he said.
And having a mammogram was an experience in itself for Criss.
"It's amazing how they can get a guy's little pecs in that thing that the
poor women go through," he said. "They are so medieval! I have a whole new
respect for women going through mammograms."
Criss was a co-founder of Kiss from 1973-1980, did a reunion tour from
1996-2000, and returned for a final stint in 2003. He's working on a new
solo album and a long-delayed autobiography.
"I am the Catman, and I do have nine lives, but I think I'm down to five
now," he said