Male breast cancer patient revitalizes life on the road thanks to care at Hoag

For Larry Arvin, a routine physical in 2013 ended with a unique and troubling diagnosis: He had breast cancer.

“Initially, I was pretty shocked,” he said. “The fact that nobody really knows what’s going on with men’s breast cancer, that’s the challenge. The serious aspect is the effects of breast cancer when it metastasizes into the bones and lungs.”

The latter became an unfortunate reality for Larry, who is now 76. Within a year of his diagnosis, he discovered the cancer had spread. Larry spent the next several years bouncing between various doctors and clinics in search of the best treatment options he could find--a difficult task, as breast cancer in men is incredibly rare. Currently, men account for less than one percent of all breast cancer patients, and less than 0.5 percent of cancer diagnoses in men are related to breast cancer, creating barriers to research and treatment.

Eventually Larry came to the Hoag Family Cancer Institute, one of the highest-volume breast cancer treatment centers in the state, where he is currently under the care of Dr. Chaitali Nangia, a hematologist and oncologist who has not shied away from the unique challenges of his case. Thanks to her expertise and that of many other breast subspecialized physicians at Hoag, patients have access to new and innovative treatments.

“Dr. Nangia is the best I’ve found,” Larry said. “She does her research.”

Things shifted dramatically in 2023 when, ready to progress to his ninth line of treatment, Dr. Nangia placed Larry on a new and highly potent drug that had been cleared by the FDA just a few months earlier. He is one of the only male breast cancer patients in the US on the drug, and his outcome has broken records.

“He's having an unusually good response,” said Dr. Nangia. “He also has an unusually good tolerance to the drug, and he's got an unusual cancer to begin with.”

According to his latest scan, completed in August 2024, Larry’s cancer is under control.

“There’s no active disease. Just stable disease,” she said. “And this is less than one year into this treatment, which is impressive.”

Thanks to Hoag’s patient-centric approach to scheduling, Larry is able to receive his infusion and meet with Dr. Nangia all in one convenient, state-of-the-art location in Newport Beach. This affords him time to focus on the things he loves most, like running the multimillion-dollar company he launched in 1971, and motorcycle trips with friends across the Southwest.

“We work around his schedule all the time,” Dr. Nangia said. “I tease him that I’m his travel agent because we are always working with his travel schedule.”

Despite the challenging role breast cancer has played in his life, Larry is adamant he will never allow the disease to define him. As for what he hopes to impart to those that have received a similar diagnosis; “Just get the best treatment you can get and live your life. Trust the process.”