I’m on a mission for blokes to drop their daks. I want to hear the clang of belt buckles on the floor.
I want to be the Ambassador of Strides Down. Think of me, and you’ll think of trousers sitting around ankles.
Not in front of Woolies, mind you. No bare bums near the checkouts. We don’t want to scare the kiddies. This is for the medical centre only.
Regular readers will know where I’m heading with this. Newcomers, stay with me. I promise there will be no weirdness ahead. Well, no more than usual.
The reason I want men to be in a state of undress, is so they can get their prostate checked. Yes, I’m banging this drum again.
I beat prostate cancer. Most of you know that. I received the news that I was free of this dreaded disease a few weeks back. A blood test that came back clear. I can tell you, they were the sweetest of words.
It makes you hug those you love, and not want to let go. It makes you cry, when you thought you’d fought off the tears. And it makes you want to celebrate. I did that too.
But my surgeon, The Genius, said something else that day. He said I needed to spread the word. Take a stand, and get the message out there.
About an hour before he made me smile, he’d been dealing with a bloke who had nothing to smile about. His cancer was advanced. He’d been late getting checked. His future was grim. He was 47.
You see, this is not an old man’s disease. More and more men in their forties are being diagnosed. Like me. And the bloke who’s thinking of what might have been.
They tell me 40 is the new 30. And that means most men continue to think they’re bullet-proof. Visiting the doctor is a sign of weakness. So they don’t.
The stories don’t help. Everyone has heard jokes about the snap of rubber gloves in the doctor’s surgery. For most red-blooded Aussie men, reason enough to head in the other direction.
That’s what we have to change. Because that simple, painless, sixty second examination, saves lives. And keeps families intact.
I’ve come to realise that the best people to change the thinking around prostate examinations, are women. Wives, girlfriends and partners.
Females are smarter at this stuff than we are. They get that early diagnosis is vital. So girls, I’m enlisting you to help.
Don’t let up on your bloke. If he’s 40 or older, he needs to be checked. Regularly. No excuses accepted. Book the exam yourself if you have to.
Already, I’ve had female colleagues tell me that they’ve done exactly that, as a result of my battle. Mates, too, have been jolted into action. Getting checked, to avoid what I’ve been through.
I’ll remind you on these pages every now and then. Spread the word yourself. Tell your Dad, or your brother, or your favourite uncle.
Let’s get those pants hitting the floor. And when it’s done, tell the doctor that you would usually wait to be taken for dinner and a movie before such activity. He wouldn’t have heard that one before.
Hold All Tickets 