A load of balls...
Facebook and twitter are usually full of people talking pants, but today you might have noticed they're talking no pants, as lots of us shed our undies and go commando to help raise awareness of male cancers.
Men are notoriously bad at talking about their health, but it seems this is particularly so when it comes to concerns in the underwear department. We may be great at moaning about blisters and backache, but bums and balls rarely feature on the conversational agenda. It seems us guys spend half our life playing with them, and the other half pretending they don't exist.
I say all this somewhat hypocritically. A number of years ago I found a small lump on one of my testicles, and rather than do anything about it, I simply worried.
Eventually, years later, I plucked up the courage to visit my GP and get it checked out. Clearly not an occasion I was looking forward to, it really wasn't that bad. The doctor invited me to find the lump, had a quick feel and referred me for an ultrasound scan. This was also far less embarrassing than I imagined. Maintaining as much modesty as possible with a carefully positioned towel, the scan was over in an instant and the technician was able to show me there and then that everything was normal. I left wondering why I had spent years worrying when it was so simple to have it checked out.
Until today, no-one knew any of this. If I'd been to get my lungs or kidneys checked, it would have been an acceptable topic for conversation, but because it involved testicles, I somehow felt the need to keep it under wraps. Today, it's time for that to change. Testicular cancer is 100% curable if caught early, so it's time we ended the taboo and started talking openly about how to look after our balls. It's time our private parts became public, conversationally speaking of course.
That's why thousands of people are going commando today and encouraging our fellow men to talk about and to check their balls, prostates, bowels and moobs. Visit malecancer.org to find out more.
Go on. Get 'em off for the lads:
