WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. -- Kirk Possehl is beloved for the joy he brings to local sports, whether it’s announcing races, Special Olympics events, or for high school teams and University of Minnesota athletics.
Possehl, 55, of White Bear Lake, has been a sports announcer for 30 years, but he could not find a playbook for the words that would change the course of his life.
“You have breast cancer,” said Possehl, remembering the words his surgeon uttered in a phone call he took at work two years ago. “It's like every ounce of breath was gone.”
Possehl had discovered a mass in his chest, but the diagnosis of male breast cancer never entered his mind. Less than one percent of all breast cancer cases develop in men.
“The first thing that comes to your mind is I'm going to die, and how do I tell my kids?” said Possehl. “I was just a single dad, right? Raising two kids, and I left work and went to church and had four pastors pray with me and we figured this out.”
Two days after the discovery, Possehl was in an operating room at the HealthEast Cancer Care Center at St. John’s hospital in Maplewood, ready for a mastectomy.
“It was the oddest thing, I don’t think I felt god in my presence before that day, but the first thing I said when I got to the hospital was, ‘it’s time to kick cancer’s butt,’ where are we going?” said Possehl. “I get really emotional about that, because I've had the best care here.”
HealthEast oncologist Puneet Cheema, MD, told him more about the rare cancer.
“If you feel a lump see a doctor, men can get a mammogram just like women, quite often it can be detected at fairly early stage,” said Dr. Cheema. “Common sense, if you see something, say something, bring it to attention of physician. Men should do self-breast checks. It takes literally one minute.”
Possehl went through chemotherapy, and yet still, he was the rare of the rare cases. His cancer came back, with the less than a one percent chance of recurrence.
“I got angry at that point, I went through literal hell with chemotherapy, but you have got to fight, you can't give up,” said Possehl.
He found even more strength when the uncertain path of cancer brought one victory. Between his bouts of cancer, Possehl reconnected with a former girlfriend.
“I ended up running into the love of my life, marrying my wife who is the best thing that ever happened to me,” said Possehl.
Together they walked hand in hand with hope and fear, and today, Possehl just finished radiation, gaining more strength each day.
He has learned you have to wage a battle more than once to win it.
“I have more great things in my life than I've ever had, including my wife,” said Possehl. “I want people to know there is hope.”
It’s why Possehl has an announcement of his own for all who will listen, hoping his words can prevent another man from experiencing his pain.
“Here is what I learned. Do you want to know the blunt truth? We all have breast tissue. We are all susceptible to breast cancer. And as men, we've got to get over that stigma. I'm too tough, I can handle this. That mentality we have as men, to power through it, that will kill you. It could have killed me,” said Possehl. “Catch the stuff early, you don’t have go through what I went through, it’s that simple.”