Starting this month, my Good Men Project column will be switching to a monthly recap of the men’s health features I’ve written on my own website, A Ballsy Sense of Tumor. I’ll be bringing you bite-sized summaries of what’s been going on in the world of men’s health. Hopefully, these will inspire you (and men everywhere) to be more… on the ball.
This was the month of highlighting other important work various men are doing to raise awareness of testicular cancer and other men’s health issues. We started out with Kenny Kane, the CEO of the Testicular Cancer Foundation. After his father was diagnosed with testicular cancer in Kenny’s senior year in high school, Kenny became a caregiver at the age of 18. While his father eventually beat this disease, it sparked a new mission within Kenny.
He began an internship with Stupid Cancer and eventually became the CEO of the Testicular Cancer Foundation, as a “way to tip my cap to my father and others in my life that have been affected by cancer or chronic illness.”
To learn more about Kenny’s work, check out his full feature here.
After speaking with Kenny, I had a great conversation with Dr. Michael Rovito. Dr. Rovito is an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at the University of Central Florida and a certified health education specialist. His work specializes in testicular self-examination and testicular cancer, male health behavioral change, instrumentation design, and health communication.
What drew me into his work was how he was pushing back on the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on testicular exams. The USPSTF actually recommends that men DO NOT do self-exams and that doctors don’t do them either, which is utterly ridiculous to me. Dr. Rovito thinks this is utter garbage as well, and recommends that the recommendation should actually be “not enough evidence to suggest one way or another.”
Read more about our conversation here.
Perhaps one of the most famous male figure skaters in the world is Scott Hamilton. While his gold medal performance won the hearts of people everywhere, it’s his passion for cancer awareness, prevention, and improving outcomes that truly is award-winning. We had a lovely conversation about his personal journey, what he aims to do next, and what he considers to be his “silver bullet.”
Check out the full discussion here.
Finally, I wrapped up the month by speaking with Dr. Frank Jevnikar, who is a staff urologist at the Cleveland Clinic. For the past four years, the Cleveland Clinic has run the MENtion It survey, which aims to understand men’s attitude toward their health. Some of the more interesting findings included that 72% of men would rather do household chores, like cleaning the bathroom or mowing the lawn. Even more ridiculous to me, 77% of men would rather go shopping with their wife or significant other than go to the doctor. I’m all for maintaining a nice yard, but I have been an Amazon Prime subscriber for over a decade for a reason.
Find out even more of these shocking statistics and what Dr. Frank and the Cleveland Clinic plan to do to fix them by reading the full article here.
That wraps up September’s recap of A Ballsy Sense of Tumor. Coming up in October, I’ll be writing about two cancer conferences I’ll be attending, sharing a eulogy for my lost testicle, and more! Until next time, Carpe Scrotiem.
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Have you read the original anthology that was the catalyst for The Good Men Project? Buy here: The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood
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Talk to you soon.
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