1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. 1 in 36 men will be killed by it.
Do you know your risk factors?
Regular readers of the blog will know that September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and we're getting Kilted to Kick Cancer. If you're sick of hearing about it, get checked and come back in October when everything turns pink.
Prostate and Testicular cancers got a bad rap in days gone by. They were considered old men's diseases and were filed on the to do list after "file nails with weed whacker." No one wants to talk about thier testicles with other men...unless we're comparing size, then it seems to be OK. We're weird that way...and it's killing us.
But in recent decades something interesting has happened. Younger men are being diagnosed with the old men's diseases. Research even suggests that the old men who were diagnosed could have been diagnosed earlier.
Enter well known cyclist Lance Armstrong and his very public battle with testicular cancer. He's not an old man, yet required drastic intervention to battle his cancer.
Then friend Russel from Hybrid Medic is also diagnosed with the old men's disease.
Motorcop found the story of Gabe Canales, who's doctors ran a PSA (the blood test that detects elevated levels of hormones indicative of an enlarged prostate) by accident and discovered his prostate cancer. Gabe was in his 30s. He took that experience and founded BlueCure an organization focused on preventing cancer and living a healthy lifestyle.
Cancer is all around us folks, but some organizations would like you to think theirs is more important than others. One such group went so far as to trademark a common slogan used to organize people. We at Kilted to Kick Cancer want to shine a light on male specific cancers because men still think they have a risk of developing breast cancer and will walk miles and miles with prostate cancer without even knowing it. Imagine 60 men walking in October, pink from head to toe, each with their wives. Odds are 10 of those men have prostate cancer. Less than 1 breast cancer. When will the walk to raise money for prostate cancer research be?
Well, as soon as you organize it.
We can't just sit on the sidelines and watch the multimillion dollar charities do what they want, we need to recognize this threat to men and act. We've done amazing things for the pink, let's do something for the blue, the children, the cancers that seem to be less sexy than the boobies.
A quick note on the multimillion dollar charities. I'm not a fan. I would prefer donating to a local group, but there are so few. I avoid donating to Jerry's Kids. Kilted to Kick Cancer links to a number of charities that need your support to continue their efforts. Some are small, some are huge, paying the board of directors million dollar salaries. Again, I am not a fan.
That's why we're building our own charity from the ground up. You can support us by donating to your local cancer groups using your time, your resources, your money. Spread their info on social media, trumpet their cause at your church, their are so many other ways of fighting cancer than grabbing for your credit card.
If you can help with a donation, make sure you use one of our links so the big boys see what kind of reach we have. If you can't help with a donation, find a local charity that needs help, it doesn't need to even be for cancer, get kilted and get involved. When folks ask about the kilt, tell them their risk factors. Coach little league kilted, wash cars for the high school band kilted, go to the game kilted. We just need to raise awareness.
But as Kelly pointed out, awareness isn't enough.
We raised a lot of money last year and hope to raise even more this year, but those conversations with men who raise their eyebrows at their risks is what it's all about. And even better, when you meet a survivor who asks, "Where were you 20 years ago?"
Let us not look back in 20 years and wish we had done more. The time is now. Get Kilted, Get Checked!
Do you know your risk factors?
Regular readers of the blog will know that September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and we're getting Kilted to Kick Cancer. If you're sick of hearing about it, get checked and come back in October when everything turns pink.
Prostate and Testicular cancers got a bad rap in days gone by. They were considered old men's diseases and were filed on the to do list after "file nails with weed whacker." No one wants to talk about thier testicles with other men...unless we're comparing size, then it seems to be OK. We're weird that way...and it's killing us.
But in recent decades something interesting has happened. Younger men are being diagnosed with the old men's diseases. Research even suggests that the old men who were diagnosed could have been diagnosed earlier.
Enter well known cyclist Lance Armstrong and his very public battle with testicular cancer. He's not an old man, yet required drastic intervention to battle his cancer.
Then friend Russel from Hybrid Medic is also diagnosed with the old men's disease.
Motorcop found the story of Gabe Canales, who's doctors ran a PSA (the blood test that detects elevated levels of hormones indicative of an enlarged prostate) by accident and discovered his prostate cancer. Gabe was in his 30s. He took that experience and founded BlueCure an organization focused on preventing cancer and living a healthy lifestyle.
Cancer is all around us folks, but some organizations would like you to think theirs is more important than others. One such group went so far as to trademark a common slogan used to organize people. We at Kilted to Kick Cancer want to shine a light on male specific cancers because men still think they have a risk of developing breast cancer and will walk miles and miles with prostate cancer without even knowing it. Imagine 60 men walking in October, pink from head to toe, each with their wives. Odds are 10 of those men have prostate cancer. Less than 1 breast cancer. When will the walk to raise money for prostate cancer research be?
Well, as soon as you organize it.
We can't just sit on the sidelines and watch the multimillion dollar charities do what they want, we need to recognize this threat to men and act. We've done amazing things for the pink, let's do something for the blue, the children, the cancers that seem to be less sexy than the boobies.
A quick note on the multimillion dollar charities. I'm not a fan. I would prefer donating to a local group, but there are so few. I avoid donating to Jerry's Kids. Kilted to Kick Cancer links to a number of charities that need your support to continue their efforts. Some are small, some are huge, paying the board of directors million dollar salaries. Again, I am not a fan.
That's why we're building our own charity from the ground up. You can support us by donating to your local cancer groups using your time, your resources, your money. Spread their info on social media, trumpet their cause at your church, their are so many other ways of fighting cancer than grabbing for your credit card.
If you can help with a donation, make sure you use one of our links so the big boys see what kind of reach we have. If you can't help with a donation, find a local charity that needs help, it doesn't need to even be for cancer, get kilted and get involved. When folks ask about the kilt, tell them their risk factors. Coach little league kilted, wash cars for the high school band kilted, go to the game kilted. We just need to raise awareness.
But as Kelly pointed out, awareness isn't enough.
We raised a lot of money last year and hope to raise even more this year, but those conversations with men who raise their eyebrows at their risks is what it's all about. And even better, when you meet a survivor who asks, "Where were you 20 years ago?"
Let us not look back in 20 years and wish we had done more. The time is now. Get Kilted, Get Checked!
Comments
Great cause, awesome attitude and freaking hilarious month! Good on you guys!