COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. - Byron Simpson loves motorcycles and life in the fast lane. But behind the tattoos and 15 inch ponytail is a family man and devoted husband to Diana, his sweetheart for the past 41 years.

"She's my best friend, she's pretty much my life." Explains Simpson.

They were cruising through life, then a doctor's visit sent them on a major detour.

"{The Doctor} came to the door and he said, I'm afraid I don't have good news for you." Says Simpson.

What doctors initially thought was a cyst on Byron's chest, turned out to be much more: Breast Cancer.

"I couldn't believe it, I'm a man, men don't get breast cancer," says Simpson. "That was my reaction, I was stunned."

"I was really angry," says Diana Simpson. "It was like this should not be happening to him, breast cancer is a woman's disease."

A false perception that nearly cost Byron his life. Officially, one percent of all breast cancer cases in the United States are in men. However, that number is likely higher, because most men don't realize they are at risk and don't know where their cancer started.

Byron was misdiagnosed for months before he learned the truth.

"If I'd of had this diagnosed back when I first saw it, I wouldn't have had to go through near what I went through."

Simpson's tumor had grown from the size of a pencil eraser, to 3 cm--the size of a silver dollar. He underwent a radical mastectomy on his left breast and 33 weeks of radiation.

"It sure opened my eyes," says Simpson. "I'm not ten feet tall and invincible like I thought before. Something like this, it gives you a whole different outlook on your life."

"I enjoy every single minute of every day," says Diana Simpson. "I thought I did before, but now I have an absolute true sense of what that means."

Simpson's prognosis is good, and now that's life's back on track this couple is driving home a point: "The word needs to get out, men need to know that they too can get breast cancer and it's deadly, it will kill you," explains Simpson. "Early detection, know your body, get it checked out."

More than 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Men with family history are at a much greater risk.