It's the final week of Movember and the ginger 'stache continues to exist! Thank you to all of you who have donated to the effort, I'm halfway to my goal and can use any extra spare change out there you might have! Visit my Movember page here to donate today! You'll also see why I MO, for my daughter and my hopes to be an embarrassing dad for years to come. https://lnkd.in/eFvnrQE
Normally I use these posts to focus on a particular area that Movember supports through research and education (mental health, prostate cancer, testicular cancer and general health). This time I wanted to do something different based on what I've personally experienced in the last week.
I was emailed by someone yesterday in the Movember community that they lost a family member to suicide Monday night. They had talked to the individual on Friday, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We just don't know where people are at and sometimes we have to go to them. Especially this time of year with the added stress that the holiday's can bring.
While I constantly message for guys to sign up for a physical, ladies, a moment dedicated to you. I had a person I know go in for a routine annual mammogram last week, a mass was detected, a biopsy take and 3 days later they received a positive test result for breast cancer. Never good news, but the positive is that it was caught very early due to the annual check and prognosis for treatment is favorable. Women are a huge driver in male health (ladies - keep after us to go to the doctor!), so we need you all healthy as well to partner with us to that end.
My point is this. Take a moment to check in. Not only with those around you but also with yourself. For those of you who know me know I'm an partially-overweight-beer-drinking-cheese-loving-partially-in-shape-middle-aged-male that struggles with maintaining my general wellness like 90% of you (checking off enough boxes with that description?). But...I've got my annual check up scheduled, getting updated blood work done and I know my family health history. That was just my week and I'm one person, imagine the number of instances with the aggregate of all of you reading this.
So take advantage of the holiday season to ask family members about health history. Check in on your friends and how they are doing. If I can be open about my situation on a platform like this, you should be able to be open with yourself in the environment you choose.
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving break and a great rest of your 2024. There might be one more Mustache related post before I give you back your time until next year! And if you have any money left over after Black Friday, consider visiting the link above to donate to men's health efforts in honor of a guy in your life (we all have them!).
#scheduleanannualexam #menshealth #womenshealth #mentalhealth #prostatecancer #testicularcancer #uwmenshealth