Bluebeards helps fight cancer

Just a quickie today, normal service will be resumed very shortly (half term last week) but I did want to draw everyone's attention to a new campaign by shaving company The Bluebeards. It's about testicular cancer and it's trying to draw attention to the fact that a quarter of we blokes never check ourselves for changes in shape and other danger signs.

This. Is. Lunacy.

During the seventies and eighties, the female cancer lobby did an admirable job of highlighting breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Prior to a lot of campaigning people didn't mention those illnesses, they were a taboo, and guess what - people didn't check themselves and died unnecessarily early in some dismal cases. This awareness continues and is an excellent thing.

Blokes, meanwhile, like to kid ourselves we're pretty much immortal. We don't need to check ourselves, we don't get cancer, we don't go to the doctor much because we don't need it, right? And anyway, feeling for new lumps and changes is embarrassing, and what we don't know won't hurt us, seems to be the logic.

Well, dream on, folks, that's not how it works. Bluebeards is working on building awareness and I'm pleased to support them. Campaigners on female cancers have set and continue to set an inspiring precedent - it's time to get over ourselves and join them.