Man Pushing Giant Testicle Across U.S. For Cancer

Thomas Cantley, also known as "Mr. Ballsy" is rolling a giant ball from Los Angeles to New York city to educate and engage with others about testicular cancer.

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BALLSY MOVE: Thomas Cantley Pushing Giant Testicle Across US To Raise Cancer Awareness

The Huffington Post | By David Moye

Posted: 10/03/2014

Thomas Cantley wants to raise awareness about testicular cancer in the ballsiest way possible.

Cantley, 31, a fashion photographer by trade, is currently pushing a giant 6-foot ball across America from Los Angeles to New York.

He started Sept. 4 and is currently in New Orleans. If all goes well, Cantley, his dog Vader, and giant ball -- which he has named "Lefty" -- will roll into New York around Oct. 13.

The testicle trek isn't as nutty as it might seem at first glance.

"I wanted to do sort of a social experiment," Cantley told KSBW TV. "I didn't want to force myself on anyone, and what this does, it forces people to come to me, ask me, 'What is this, what's it about, it kind of looks like a testicle, what's going on?' It creates that conversation." 

Cantley was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2009. At the time, he had been suffering from abdominal and lower back pain but wasn't aware they were key warning signs of testicular cancer.

"I had this 'Superman Complex' all these men create," he told Today.com. "I was a fashion photographer in New York and I was so self-centered."

If detected early, testicular cancer has a 95 percent survival rate. By the time Cantley did go to a doctor, his left testicle had ballooned to the size of an orange, Newser.com reports.

Cantley said that after his diagnosis, he sat down and asked himself: “If I died right now, what could I say I’ve accomplished in my life?”

He decided he needed to get teste.

“My initials are T.C., same as testicular cancer, and testicular cancer month is in April, my birthday is April 3. So, for me there was kind of a calling,” he told the Killeen Daily Herald. “When I was diagnosed with cancer, it was an awakening for me. I realized that I’m a communicator, I love people.”

 

William Shatner is doing it.

Hugh Jackman (far left) is doing it.

Are you doing it?

It's time to grab your stuff, boys, and feel around for lumps that don't belong there (note: those two big lumps are your testicles).

Feeling Nuts Challenge for men goes viral

By Sara Cheshire, Special to CNN
Fri October 3, 2014

Men, are you #feelingnuts?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• #feelingnuts is raising awareness online of testicular cancer
• Celebrities Hugh Jackman and William Shatner have joined in
• Testicular cancer typically affects young men
• Experts estimate 8,820 cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed this year in the U.S.

(CNN) -- Now that the Ice Bucket Challenge has made the rounds, a new trend is on the rise: crotch grabbing -- for testicular cancer.

Stars such as Hugh Jackman and William Shatner have already participated in the Feeling Nuts Challenge, which you can follow online with the hashtag #feelingnuts.

Why testicular cancer awareness? Unlike some other cancers, testicular cancer typically affects young men, with an average age of diagnosis 33, according to American Cancer Society. The organization estimates that 8,820 new cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed this year in the United States.

Fortunately, it is highly treatable if discovered early.

Men who have cryptorchidism, or an undescended testicle, are more at risk, along with those with a family history of the cancer. White males have the highest risk, followed by Latino, Asian-American and black men, according to the ACS.

So if you're joining the Feeling Nuts Challenge, feel for lumps and follow up with a doctor if anything seems amiss.

Movember: The Bottom Line is the Top Lip (Good Men Project)

For the past several years, November has become Movember, a month of men growing hideous mustaches (in my opinion) to raise awareness of men's health issues, specifically testicular and prostate cancer.

I cannot grow a mustache that is not simply embarrassing (looks I have just hit puberty and refuse to shave the random hairs from my upper lip), but I support any effort that can help close the nearly 3 to 1 ratio of research dollars spent on breast cancer as opposed to prostate cancer.

Movember: The Bottom Line is the Top Lip

November 1, 2013 by Whit Honea



Whit Honea is going full mustache this Movember, and he has some pretty awesome teammates.
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The mustaches are coming! The mustaches are coming!

You have seen Movember everywhere. It is all over Facebook, Twitter, water cooler conversations, and your lip. People are getting their face hair on for a good cause, and despite the increase in aesthetic awkwardness that surrounds a mustache movement, it is well worth it. Why? Because it is working.

Movember exists to raise money and awareness for men’s issues, namely prostate and testicular cancers, respectively, but also mental health. Past Movembers have raised enough money that the medical community is optimistic about their progress and chance for a cure(s). But in the meantime there are good men suffering and dying all around us: sons, fathers, husbands, cousins, friends, etc., and if a scraggly line of whiskers can spare them that experience then put the razor down and get used to children screaming in your general direction.

To be fair, some men can really make it work (see Tom Selleck, Burt Reynolds, Sam Elliot, Freddie Mercury, and Captain Kangaroo), but it seems that many of us feel less than confident with nothing on but a mustache. Perhaps it is the collective weak chin of our crumbling society that makes us hesitant to embrace the mustache as men once did, but don’t worry, yours looks great.

I am part of a Movember team, which is just like any other team that I have ever been on because it involves a lot of sitting. The bench is my thinking spot. However, the beauty of this team is that the only physical activity required is pushing tiny roots of hair through every follicle on the northern border of one’s gaping pie hole. It’s so easy a child could do it.

And that’s why my boys, ages 10 and 7, are joining me in the annual growing of mustaches during this month of Movember. Take that, puberty!



How can you help?

You can follow our non-shaving adventures here or on my official Movember page, then help spread the word. Or if you would rather support the entire team, which features many of your favorite dad bloggers—a number of which have appeared here in the Dads and Families section, then feel free to donate to any one of us, I’m not greedy. We’re trying to beat cancer, not each other. There is no “screw those guys” in team.

In closing, make sure that you are taking care of yourself. If you feel that you need assistance with depression or your overall mental being don’t let the stereotypes of manhood keep you from doing what needs to be done. It takes a brave, strong man to ask for help. Also, have a doctor check your man bits:

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Images: W. Honea