December is taking a back seat, and Decembeard is here!
1-30 December is a month dedicated to spreading awareness and raising funds for bowel cancer.
Bowel cancer is Australia’s second deadliest cancer, and it effects men and women, young and old.
Another scary fact? 1 in 13 Australians will develop the disease in their lifetime.
This isn’t an article to startle you though – it’s to provide encouragement and inspire you to jump on the beard-wagon.
Get hairy
As stated on the Bowel Cancer Australia website:
‘Beards aren’t just for hipsters, grandpas, men that ride motorbikes or people that are too lazy to shave. Anyone can help make a real change happen.
‘All you need to do is grow a beard or some chin stubble and promote your facial hair to raise awareness and funds for Australia’s second deadliest cancer killer.’
Those who wish to participate can also do so virtually.
‘Add a virtual Decembeard to your Facebook profile picture and encourage your family and friends to do the same.
‘To activate the frame on your profile simply go to your Facebook page, then click on your profile picture.’
Me, My Hair and Why
Basically, anyone can get bowel cancer, and the ‘Me, My Hair and Why’ section on the Bowel Cancer Australia page proves just that.
There’s a wide range of people and their stories, or stories of someone they are close to on the cancer.
Joel S, 36 begins his story by saying: “…like a lot of the stories I’ve read, I was a very healthy 36-year-old who exercise all the time, ate healthily and didn’t have a family history of colon cancer. It was just luck of the draw.
“I didn’t waste time thinking, ‘why me?’ My reaction was, ‘well what do I have to do to get better?’ (with a lot of crying between the diagnosis and treatment plan).”
To read Joel’s and other stories, click here.
Head to the Bowel Cancer Australia website to learn how you can get involved, along with other important information on bowel cancer.
