ON OCTOBER 23, volunteers of Slovakia’s League against Cancer distributed apples as symbols of health and healthy nutrition within the traditional Day of Apples. The 11th Day of Apples also kicked off the league’s Week against Cancer with a campaign focused on oncological conditions common in men – testicular and prostate cancer and cancer of the large intestine.
Volunteers in yellow T-shirts offered people both the tasty fruit and important information and both residents of and visitors to Bratislava were drawn to their advertising boards. In other Slovak towns, the Day of Apples was organised on the main public squares and through educational lectures at schools.
The League against Cancer’s campaign called Muži vs. Priamy Kop (Men vs. Direct Kick) will continue into November. The slogan of the campaign is Pozor na priamy kop rakoviny (Watch the direct kick of cancer) and is meant to educate men in a witty way. The League’s head, Dr. Eva Siracká, said that since men are not accustomed to regular medical examinations or preventive measures, the league wants to focus their attention on cancer by using two of men’s passions, cars and football.
Even though the state of men’s health in Europe is much worse than that of women, Siracká said that Slovakia may be the first country in the EU to concentrate solely on men in its anti-cancer campaign. Former star footballer Ľubomír Luhový participated in the campaign, and he asked men to monitor their health through preventive exams and to not let cancer ruin their lives.
