Profiles in Pink Blog: Arnie and Marshall are just as hard to crack as they look. You’re never clear if they’re kidding or being serious, a conundrum for a gullible reporter who’s trying to tell a true “human” story.

These two were actually the first breast cancer survivors I interviewed for Profiles in Pink. Heading into it, I thought they might be embarrassed to talk about the disease. As many have eloquently put it, “Men don’t even have breasts!” I expected a blush or at least some nervous shifting, but Arnie and Marshall were deadpan, shooters as straight as they come.

There really is nothing funny about male breast cancer, and it’s short of miraculous that two friends living in the same city should be diagnosed within the same year. An oncologist said it was like “finding two needles in a haystack.” I brought that up to Arnie and Marshall, asking them if they thought it happened to them for a reason.

The two looked at me expressionless for a few seconds. Then, Arnie raised his eyebrows and began wiggling his fingers. “You mean like, oooooh?” Now I was the one blushing.

The sentimental questions ended there. I should have taken them to a bar, rather than a gym, as they had first suggested. I wouldn’t mind kicking back a few beers with the entertaining duo. I still laugh as I replay the footage.

I take my hat off to Arnie and Marshall for the wonderful gentleman they are, for their straightforward acceptance of a disease that’s usually pink and female, and for their steadfast decision to just “get it over with,” as Arnie puts it.