It's Movember, time to CHECK your ‘Meat and Two Veg’ !

It's Movember and once again, thousands of men (and women !) across the world are forgoing the razors and getting hairy for a good cause - promoting men's health, in particular prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. All things that men often don't like to talk about - more a case of Dad's the word than Mum's the word !

A survey of 2,000 people has discovered the true extent of the taboo subject, with 82% of men unwilling to talk to their doctor about any issues with their genitals. The worrying results were commissioned by HECK – a Yorkshire-based sausage brand which is working alongside the world-leading men’s health charity The Movember Foundation. In the name of men’s health, HECK have renamed themselves CHECK for the duration of November, in order to encourage men to search for lumps on their scrotum and for women to CHECK their partners too!

Commenting on the poll findings, a spokesperson for The Movember Foundation said: 'Unfortunately this latest polling from HECK is accurate. Too many men are not checking themselves, not knowing what to look for and being too embarrassed to discuss the subject. Tackling these taboos head on, getting more men educated on the health risks they face, taking action when needed and talking when things get tough, is exactly why The Movember Foundation exists.’

The survey also showed that almost one in 10 (9.8%) of men between the ages of 18 and 24 would do nothing if they felt a lump on their testicle. By contrast, just 3% of women would do nothing if they felt a lump on a breast.

Testicular cancer is often described as a small pea-like lump on one testicle, but many men are unaware of this. Two thirds of men had no idea this was a sign of the deadly cancer. One in five blokes (18.4%) of men incorrectly assumed that a cancerous lump feels ‘like a flat coin’. The research also found that three-quarters of women (76%) would have no idea what a cancerous lump would feel like on their partner’s testicles. In contrast, slightly less than half of men (46.6%) said they’d know when to be concerned about a lump on their partner’s breast.

The research was carried out by the brands founder, Jamie Keeble, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer two years ago. He said, “If men don’t know what testicular cancer might feel like, how can they possibly check themselves? Testicular cancer is on the rise and men can reduce their chances of dying simply by knowing what to feel for. Too many men are dying young from ignorance and lack of quick action. This disease needs to be openly discussed so that more guys will check themselves and feel they can talk to someone if something doesn’t feel right."

To help spread the word, Heck sent us through some of their delicious sausages and invited us to  join in with the CHECK Sausages ‘Meat and Two Veg’challenge. For my two veg, I opted for some thinly sliced leeks and carrots, which I sauteed in butter before adding some single cream. They were a big hit with the kids and went really well with the sausages.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words so hopefully this one will make you giggle and remind you of what the campaign is all about ! I thought the unkempt "hair" on the leeks was very in-keeping with Movember !

The CHECK products will be available in ASDA, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose throughout November, costing £2.99.

Disclosure : I received the sausages in order to take part in the challenge.