Page 92 2025 PAINT THE PAPER PINK Lincoln Daily News Oct/Nov 2025 BRUCE JOHNSTON breast cancer can affect anyone Oftentimes when people think about breast cancer, they usually associate it with women. The vast majority of diagnosed breast cancer cases are in women. The disease is also often represented by the color pink, a color that is typically associated with femininity. While it does largely affect women, it can also affect men as well. Bruce Johnston, a former Logan County farmer, was one of these men who was affected by this disease. He fought the disease for many years, and for much longer than many thought he would be able to. While Bruce has passed on, his daughter, Brandi Marvel/Patterson, was willing to share her father’s story with LDN. This is his story: Bruce, as previously stated, was a farmer. He loved to fish, and according to his daughter, would fish “any time he could.” He was also big into CB radios, being known by the handle ‘bass master.’ Bruce was a very hard worker and spent a lot of time working the family farm. One day, while playing with his Corgi, the dog pounced on his chest. The area became very sore and bruised, and Bruce’s wife encouraged him to go see a doctor. The breast cancer diagnosis did not take long, and on February 4th, 2016, Bruce and his family were made aware of the diagnosis. Brandi shared that Bruce handled the news better than the rest and described him as a “pretty tough bird.” Bruce didn’t take time to get caught up in what had happened, he simply wanted to know what needed to happen next. He wanted to know what he needed to do to fight this cancer. As for Bruce’s family, Brandi stated that they were all shocked. Since male breast cancer is so rarely diagnosed, the family was not expecting a bruised chest to end up being The Big C. Bruce allowed Brandi to be power of attorney over his healthcare, as he did not want his wife to have to make any tough calls. From what Brandi shared, Bruce just wanted his wife to be able to love him through it. This led Bruce to a multitude of treatments, none of which he fought receiving. His breast cancer was diagnosed at stage four, and it was discovered that he had stage 4 lung cancer as well. He started with chemotherapy, then had a mastectomy. Then followed radiation, which was followed by more chemo, as well as immunotherapy. Doctors gave Bruce just one year to live, but he managed to live another seven years. Brandi shared that, during this time, even though Bruce was going through so many treatments, he did not allow the cancer to define him. He wanted to live his life the best he could. As a farmer, Bruce was always working, and Brandi shared that when she and her siblings were growing up, they rarely took vacations. Due to the nature of running a farm, vacations can be a difficult thing to find time for. After his diagnosis, however, Bruce started taking family vacations as often as he could. He did maintain his duties as a farmer, though. Brandi shared that he would sometimes get
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