Perth men using beards to spark skin cancer action and prevention

A Perth man is using his beard to encourage Western Australian men to get skin cancer checks.

While Jimmy Niggles Beard Season have the east coast covered when it comes to getting men booked in for skin checks, Angelino Schintu felt his home state was a little behind the eight ball.

“Thanks to Jimmy there’s heaps over east but there’s bugger all in Perth,” Mr Schintu said.

“I was motivated to organize something to get fellas to feel the need to get their skin checked for cancer”.

For those unaware, Beard Season was started by Jimmy Niggles as a way to tackle the growing impact of melanoma.

More than 46,000 people die from skin cancer each year making it one of the deadliest cancers in the world.

Jimmy launched the movement to honour his friend Wes Bonny, who lost his life to melanoma at 26.

He decided to use his beard as the driving force to push people to get more regular skin checks – a vital piece of the puzzle when tackling this often, unnoticed cancer.

Inspired by Jimmy’s work in the last few years and surviving his own health issues, (a kidney transplant) Mr Schintu set out to get the men of Western Australia to prove they're manly enough to keep on top of their health.

“The Beard Season movement has inspired me to do something here,” he said.

Earlier this week he put the call out for men to join him at a Joonadalup Skin Clinic for a skin check.

“The fellas put the call out on social media and one thing led to another,” he said.

While beards weren’t as effective as good ol’ sunscreen, they were another way men could help to protect their faces.

Mr Schintu felt his beard was also a good way to spark conversation about melanoma.

“I find myself talking to people who just need another fella to talk to,” he said.

“It’s amazing how many people will open up, and I thought it might be a good way to get some bearded guys involved”.

“Cancer is one of those horrible things we can’t seem to get a handle on… everyone is touched by it in one way or another”.

While it’s early days yet, Mr Schintu said he hoped bearded men of Western Australia would come on board and use their ‘conversation starters’ to spread the message about the necessity of skin cancer checks.

If you’d like to get involved contact Angelino Schintu on Facebook..
For more info on Beard Season visit the website here.

To book yourself in for a skin check find a clinic near you here.