HE’S so full of energy and vitality it’s hard to believe he’s fighting a private battle every day.
His smile is infectious, his motto is “no bad days” and one of his goals is to brighten the lives of everyone he knows.
It’s a mindset that helps keep Zac Yar positive even on the darkest days – and there have been some dark days.
Zac was diagnosed with male breast cancer four years ago and is sharing his story with YOU during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness of an illness regarded as “more of a woman’s disease”.
The first sign of trouble came when he was swimming with his two daughters, Ella and Georgia, at their home in Jacksonville, Florida, in the US.
His arm grazed across his chest and he felt a knot under his left nipple. “It was small, you know, probably half the size of a marble,” Zac tells us via video call. “I didn’t really think anything of it.”
He had a busy life as a photographer and videographer, traveling the world for work. The knot didn’t go away but Zac presumed it was a cyst. “But when I got off the road four months later it had grown to the size of a golf ball so I knew I had to get it checked out.”
His doctor sent him for a mammogram and he then had a biopsy – and the news wasn’t good. Zac had stage 4 invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common breast cancer in men.
He was stunned. “I’d never heard of male breast cancer and no one in my family had had cancer so it didn’t even cross my mind that I might have it.”
Denne historien er fra 2 November 2023-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 2 November 2023-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST
With more and more of us struggling with our mental health, here's a common-sense guide to coping with life's ups and downs
SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES
John van de Ruit tells us why he decided to write a sequel - and shares how his first book helped him find enduring love
SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG
A Cape Town couple have been charged with using a young woman as a sex slave-but some say she lost the job she signed up for and now has a grudge against them
LIAM LAID TO REST
More than a month after One Direction singer LIAM PAYNE (31) tragically fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his loved ones finally got to say their goodbyes.
SHILOH HANGS OUT
THE two young women look like any pair of good friends chatting and laughing as they leave their dance class in Los Angeles.
LEO IN LOVE
He's just turned 50 and it seems Leonardo DiCaprio may finally be ready to settle down
PACKING A PUNCH
Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it
I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD
As the illegitimate daughter of the king, she fought to be recognised as part of Belgium's royal family, but Princess Delphine says she still feels unwelcome
'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'
A bite from a spitting cobra 13 years ago nearly killed her but Mikayla survived - and she's made peace with her scars
THE CLAWS ARE OUT!
Things have grown frosty between the Beckhams and the Sussexes as Becks comes out in clear support of William