The #FeelingNuts campaign to promote awareness for testicular cancer is gathering speed as Hugh Jackman and other celebrities participate in the "grab crotch challenge", kicking the movement into high gear.
Apparently among the first of health-conscious social media promotions that becomes viral following the highly successful ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that promotes awareness of the neurodegenerative disorder Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease, the #FeelingNuts campaign, begun by the British organization Check One Two, encourages men to do a physical self-check of their testicles.
Participants of the challenge are required to take photos of themselves holding their inguinal areas and sharing them online.
On Wednesday, Australian actor and "X-Men" star Hugh Jackman did just that, posting a picture on Twitter and a slow-motion video on Instagram as he does his self-check, which may have sent the campaign to gather steam and give it a viral boost.
Hugh Jackman captioned the video, "I accept #feelingnuts raising awareness for testicular cancer. I nominate@ActuallyNPH @michaelstrahan @rickygervais pic.twitter.com/zl1lce9Rfr"
Jackman nominated Neil Patrick Harris, Ricky Gervais and Michael Strahan to take the challenge and do their exams.
Gervais already accepted and posted his, nominating William Shatner in turn.
Ricky Gervais said, "I accept the @RealHughJackman#feelingnuts challenge for testicular cancer. I nominate @WilliamShatnerpic.twitter.com/yarfYDZKWN"
The "Star Trek" icon indulged on Twitter, did a two-handed examination and nominated Josh Groban and Misha Collins on Whosay.
On its website, Check One Two says that it is "a movement dedicated to changing the behavior of a generation of men", given the somewhat relaxed and easy-going male attitude towards health. It aims to pursue the following goals, namely:
"1. Spread awareness far and wide of #feelingnuts in funny, ball grabbing and pant dropping ways"
"2. Educate men and the women in their lives about how to check their nuts for testicular cancer"
Testicular cancer has one of the highest cure rates of all cancers, according to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Still it is a cause for concern. In 2011, SEER added, there were an estimated 227,406 men living with testis cancer in the United States alone. Testicular cancer, as of 2010, caused 8,000 deaths worldwide, according to the medical journal The Lancet.
The #FeelingNuts campaign may be hilariously graphic in its content, but it's quite a prompt reminder for men that testicular cancer is a serious issue.
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