Men and health don’t always coexist. In most cases, health situations hardly dominate a conversation over sports and politics. Even worse, health involving Black men remains a taboo subject. Fortunately, the narrative on Black men’s health is changing. In fact, the Movember movement from 2003 argued the idea that “mustaches” could help initiate conversations about men’s health topics, which often included prostate cancer. In the end, discussing these topics could essentially save the lives of millions.
According to research, Black men are often at a high risk of developing prostate cancer in comparison to white men. Further research notes that 1 in 6 Black men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime. Making matters worse, African-American men are more likely to die from the disease. One conversation and open dialogue could change that statistic forever.
Pro-football hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe definitely seeks to make that a reality. The spokesman has occasionally discussed his battle with Prostate Cancer in 2016.
Fortunately, he beat the chronic disease and happily reported that he’s in remission. In the end, Sharpe’s personal experience led him to reach out to the other men and spread awareness. Through a partnership with Janessen’s Talk That Talk Campaign, Sharpe hopes to change long-held misconceptions about prostate cancer and more importantly, save lives.
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The Power Of Conversation
Having built a career centered around talking about sports, we’d think that Shannon Sharpe would have plenty to say about men’s health. After all, the Pro-football hall of Famer believes wholeheartedly in the power of conversation. The star sports spokesman especially opened up about his battle with prostate cancer with Men’s Health magazine back in November 2022.
Sharpe stated throughout the interview that he kept his diagnosis a secret from his family. Behind the scenes, the spokesman for FOX’s Undisputed the rest of his time in and out of doctors appointments.
Furthermore, he endured countless blood tests every three months for 18 months after his 2016 diagnosis. Then in the year after, he underwent a surgical procedure called prostate seed implantation surgery. Sharpe explained that the doctors implanted radioactive seeds directly into his prostate. Thanks to early screening and his knowledge of his family’s history with cancer, Sharpe saved himself from becoming a statistic.
In his conversation with Men’s Health, the star explained that he didn’t have any reservations about his upcoming surgery. Though, he did ask how long before he could get back to his old self. Clearly, the star was eager to return to his life, not just as a spokesman but also to his family.
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In fact, Sharpe didn’t tell his family about his procedure until after everything was said and done. He and his family were especially thrilled after Sharpe became officially cancer-free in 2019. The former NFL star became a cancer survivor and a major success story. He refused to
