Putting the “Gloves-On” For Men’s Health
Author: Nicole Braun, Volunteer Writer, Prostate Cancer Centre
WFMH Gala Committee Members
The gloves were on in the fight against prostate cancer February 2, 2018. A Gloves-On Gala for Men’s Health raised $150,000 for Calgary’s Prostate Cancer Centre (PCC), exceeding its audacious goal of $100,000. The Women for Men’s Health initiative at PCC hosted the event in partnership with Hotel Arts, Brandsmith marketing company, Co-Chairs Bill Brooks, Dr. Shelley Spaner, and OneWest event planning. Mark Wilson, General Manager and Vice President of the Hotel Arts Group, described the evening as the “premiere event of the season,” at Hotel Arts. The inaugural event featured a live and silent auction, dancing, hors d’oeuvres, libations and a live band. Attendees were invited to don their favorite gloves in an effort to “give your man a hand,” explains Shannon de Vall, Fund Development Specialist at the PCC, adding that the money raised will help thousands of men in Calgary. “Our wait to see a urologist for prostate cancer diagnosis is less than two weeks, which is very good for the city,” de Vall says, “We also supply a lot of support for their families as well, which I think is a huge thing for men going through prostate cancer.” The event is the brainchild of Dr. Shelley Spaner, PCC board member and Calgary Radiologist. Dr. Spaner created Women for Men’s Health initiative two years ago in an attempt to engage women in getting men the healthcare that they need. “In Canada, and around the world, men die earlier than women. All of the research that is put into healthcare and put into medicine has never changed that statistic: men die on average five to eight years earlier than women,” says Dr. Spaner, So we’ve been trying to figure out how we can try and close that gap.” Dr. Shelley Spaner’s goal through Women for Men’s Health is to prevent men from dying from treatable diseases by encouraging them to get regularly checked by their doctor and by mobilizing the women in their lives to encourage this behaviour. Having Hotel Arts support in this event means a great deal to the Centre explains Dr. Spaner. “It’s a beautiful facility… and we are incredibly lucky to have their support.” When the annual Bill Brooks Prostate Cancer Benefit Ball ended last year, Wilson says Hotel Arts still saw room for them to participate in something that would make a difference in the community. In the past 19 years the Bill Brooks Benefit Ball raised $8.8 million in support of care for men with prostate cancer. “We think that we can carry the momentum of the previous prostate benefit ball and carry this into a new era with Women for Men’s Health,” he says.
Women For Men’s Health Info:
Website: www.womenformenshealthyyc.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenformenshealth/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WFMHyyc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenformenshealthcalgary/?hl=en
