Men’s health is quite a neglected issue nowadays. The average man of today is not well informed about health risks which threaten him. He also doesn’t feel comfortable speaking about his health and diseases. The big problem connected with men’s health is testicular and prostate cancer. Sadly, the Czech Republic ranks in a high position in European and also worldwide statistics. The Movember movement is trying to change the face of men’s health by using moustaches to help with spreading information about uro-oncological diseases, and attracting some money for its research and treatment. And that’s why I decided to plan a small, supportive benefit meeting at our school.
We met on Wednesday 26th November 2014 in classroom P03D to acquire some information about men’s health and diseases connected with it. The participation was better than I expected. Quite a large amount of students from 3rd and 4th year classes came. Some students from lower years and a few teachers also appeared. I started the program with my presentation about how the Movember movement is related to men’s health and I was talking about some tips for better health. A short lecture in English followed, prepared by Filip Miller. He talked about Movember’s history and how it was established in Adelaide in 1999. The star of the afternoon was MUDr. Ivan Trávníček, a doctor from the Department of Urology at the University Hospital in Pilsen. His exhaustive presentation included the basic anatomy of men’s reproductive organs. He explained to us what prostate and testicular cancer really is, how these organs are examined and how the cancer can be healed. At the end we shared an astonishing chocolate cake in the shape of the moustache. Moustache-shaped biscuits were available during the whole afternoon for a symbolic price. By selling them we raised 1193 crowns for the Movember movement. Another 306 crowns was earned by selling them in the school canteen.
I would like to thank everyone who supported this event and donated some money. My thanks go especially to our school’s leadership for the chance to organise this kind of meeting, and to MUDr. Ivan Trávníček for his willingness to come and participate.
Vojtěch Milota, septima A
