2011 survivor profile: Jimmy Perreca
"I never thought of myself as a fighter, but this was war.” - Jimmy Perreca Credit: Photo Illustration / Jimmy Perreca
Jimmy Perreca had every reason to fear cancer. Both of his parents and all four grandparents died from lung cancer, so he was very diligent about getting his checkups, including annual chest x-rays.
When he was diagnosed in 2005, it came as a huge shock: Perreca had breast cancer. “My wife found the lump, but I wasn’t really concerned at first,” he recalls. “Men don’t think about getting breast cancer, but I learned the hard way that it does happen.”
Perreca, who has been cancer-free for six years, wants to help educate other men to ask their doctors to conduct a breast exam during their annual physicals.
As a lifelong running enthusiast, one of Perreca’s biggest concerns was that he’d be too tired to run during his treatments. “I feel closest to God when I’m running,” he says. “My main drive was to get back out on the street.” When he hits the road these days to participate in races, he wears a pink shirt with the breast cancer logo on it. “It gives me the opportunity to talk to people after the race and let them know men need to be aware of this disease—and that they can survive!”
