Bucs receiver Keenan McCardell was at University Community Hospital Tuesday signing autographs for men who were waiting to be screened for prostate cancer.
McCardell was part of a promotion by the Colorado-based Prostate Cancer Education Council. Twelve of the men who were screened won tickets to the Oct. 12 game against Indianapolis.
You wouldn't think there would be a need for such enticements, with prostate cancer being the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men. But these are men we're talking about, and they would rather watch an E! True Hollywood Story about Lobster Boy than deal with health issues.
I know this because I watched that Lobster Boy program Tuesday morning instead of going to get a blood test. My excuse this morning will be my failure to fast after midnight. Do not believe for a second I ate two Chip Ahoys at 12:01 a.m. to avoid the screening.
We behave so badly when it comes to going to the doctor, but I still feel compelled to write about men's health issues and prostate cancer ... again. Yes, the subject has been featured in this column before, but the words of warning haven't change the fact 15,800 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and an estimated 2,100 will die.
Getting more men to be screened will change the numbers. Prostate cancer has a 90 percent cure rate when detected early. But Florida Prostate Cancer Network chairman Bob Samuels recognizes that those convincing statistics face a tough battle when challenging the cultural stigmas of generations.
"Males are raised to believe men don't have health issues," Samuels said. "Women are raised to be sensitive to preventive health maintenance at an early age. They don't go to the gynecologist because they have a problem. They go to get checked.
"Boys are told shake it off, don't cry. They're taught to take better care of their cars than their bodies."
Samuels, a recovering prostate cancer patient, won't stop fighting. With September being Prostate Cancer Awareness month, his group is holding a Town Hall Meeting on Men's Health Sept. 27 at the Tampa Convention Center. Fifteen doctors have given up their golf day to conduct workshops on blood pressure, prostate and colon cancer, diabetes and men's sexual health issues.
Workshops also have been set up for women because Samuels is banking on women bringing men to the convention center. The $20 registration fee has been waived, thanks to the donation of a generous pharmaceutical company, and breakfast and lunch will be served.
So do as I say, not as I do and go. Take an interest in your health. Who knows, maybe I'll follow my own advice.
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Bob Edwards, the soothing trademark voice of National Public Radio's Morning Edition, comes to town Thursday to help WUSF-FM 89.7 celebrate its 40th anniversary. He'll appear at a 7:30 p.m. Trenam Kemker-sponsored dinner in the Wyndham Harbour Island. For tickets, call 1-800-741-9090 or visit the WUSF web site at www.wusf.org
For a lot of fans, it'll be a chance to match a face to that familiar voice. I've never seen a picture of Edwards, but I'm willing to wager most will be surprised by his looks. You always are when it comes to radio folks.
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I had the pleasure of attending the Florida vs. Florida A&M football game this past weekend. I couldn't help but think how much my late mother, who taught at FAMU for more than 30 years, would have enjoyed the famed Marching 100 band, but the excitement my boys displayed made up for her absence. It was their first time to see the band.
It wasn't the first for a lot of Gator fans, who have enjoyed the Marching 100 at their annual homecoming game. Most of the 90,000 in attendance stood for the entire show and applauded wildly as the band bounced and gyrated to some of today's top hip-hop songs.
More than one Gator alum is pushing for an annual meeting between the schools, and I wouldn't complain. Of course, Rattlers coach Billy Joe may have a different opinion. The Gators beat his team 63-3.
