ROMA (ITALPRESS) – About 40,000 new diagnoses every year in Italy, which make prostate cancer the most frequent neoplasia in the male population. And a percentage of healing that, when the disease is detected early, exceeds 90%. Yet, men continue to postpone because the urological visit remains for many sources of fear or embarrassment. It is from here that you start LILT for Men – Blue Tape, the campaign with which the LILT (Italian League for the Fight against Tumors) dedicates the entire month of November to the prevention and early diagnosis of male tumors. “The men are sick of cancer, but they speak little about it and they are even less controlled – says the National President LILT Francesco Schittulli -. Fear, embarrassment and false myths keep away from the medical study just who could benefit from an early diagnosis. With LILT for Men – Blue ribbon we ask every man to take a concrete step: to know his body, to choose a healthy and active lifestyle, to contact the doctor without alarms, but without delay. Prevention is not an extraordinary gesture, it is a habit to build day after day, and calls into question families, school, institutions and health professionals. ‘Prevent is viverè valid for women and is also valid for men.’ After being a testimonial of Blue ribbon 2025, Beppe Convertini joins LILT as a National Ambassador. “I am really happy to continue my path next to LILT with the role of Ambassador to bring a message in which I deeply believe: wanting us well also means learning to take care of our health. I am even more convinced than it is important to speak to men of prevention with simplicity and sensitivity, helping them to overcome fears, embarrassments and the tendency to postpone. Dedicating the entire month of November to this initiative is a precious opportunity that the LILT offers to reach more people and remember that a control can make a difference. Because taking care of himself is not a sign of weakness, but an act of love towards oneself and towards those who are next to us.” The tumor of the prostate affects especially after 50 years and in the initial stages is often asymptomatic: for this reason it is important to evaluate with your doctor the urological visit, the prostate ultrasound or the dosage of the PSA, from 50 years annually or earlier in case of familiarity. The tumor of the testicle, about 2,000 diagnoses a year, is mainly about young people between 15 and 40 years and can be recognized for time with self-palpation, to be done once a month. Then the penis carcinoma, about 500 cases a year in Italy, for which the first weapon of prevention is anti-inflammatory vaccination HPV, also recommended for children from 12 years up. For all, prevention begins with habits: regular physical activity, healthy nutrition, and no smoking. The claim for the 2026 edition, “Muoviti. For you.”, it is an invitation to move from intentions to facts: inquire, learn to know your body, adopt an active lifestyle and, above all, do not postpone a control. “There is the myth of the strong man, who as such does not need to control himself. The truth is that men, compared to women, are much more fragile in dealing with these issues,” explains Bernardo Rocco, Director of Urological Clinic of the University Polyclinic Foundation A. Gemelli IRCCS of Rome and member of the LILT Task Force “Tumori della Prostata”. To complicate the situation there are then stereotypes and easy ironies that further discourage from undergoing controls. “There are more or less jokes about the rectal visit, which if performed carefully is an absolutely tolerable examination, and however it is important to dose the PSA – adds Rocco -. There is in general a disregard for your health; there is no equivalent of the gynecologist who accompanies the patient anche in adolescence or between 20 and 30 years, so the man is a little catapulted in this relationship missed with the urologist who leads him to disregard routine controls.” To try to approach as many men as possible to prevention practices, Rocco explains that even at the level of scientific societies he is working a lot on information campaigns and awareness raising. “It is precisely the element of knowledge that helps us to raise awareness, because, if we manage to intercept the disease in advance, also the possible side effects – like all the moments that concern the sexual sphere, for example – are potentially much lower. Moreover, with the advent of technologies such as robotic surgery, today prostate intervention in case of localized tumor is a much less path”. Throughout the month of November, LILT Associations promote information and awareness-raising initiatives throughout Italy and, according to the programming of each territorial reality, monitoring visits to ambulancemen and Prevention Points. Accompanying the campaign is the free, dedicated information booklet that illustrates risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic routes and therapies with an accessible language. Information and contacts of the nearest provincial/metropolitane offices on www.lilt.it.
– photos mec/Italpress – (ITALPRESS).
