To The T
Fran Drescher, Roger Moore & other celebs tout prostate cancer awareness withBlue Cure T-shirts
Gabe CanalesPhoto via Dobianchi
Fran Drescher
Sir Roger Moore and Lady Kristina
Carolyn FarbPhoto by © 2011 Sofia van der Dys
Dominic Walsh
Erica Rose
Matt Schaub
What do Bob Saget, Fran Drescher, former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and hometown reality TV star Erica Rose have in common?
They're all sporting a righteous white T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the Blue Cure Foundation, a prostate cancer awareness outfit spearheaded by Houston media specialist Gabe Canales. The T-shirts are available through Sun & Ski Sports in order to spread the word on the No. 1 male cancer that claimed the lives of 33,720 in the U.S. in 2010.
The T-shirt's have caught the eyes of such local fashion plates as Carolyn Farb and international figures like former James Bond Sir Roger Moore.
Canales himself was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 35. Because of his young age and good health, the news came as a shock. After treatment, he decided he didn't want to leave other men in the dark about the disease's risks.
"The Blue Cure Foundation is my response," he tells CultureMap. "The American Cancer Society just came out with the 2011 numbers, and the number of prostate cancer cases and deaths both went up."
Canales suggests that we think of the new movement as the counterpoint to the pink-tinted breast cancer awareness initiative.
"People are always talking about breast cancer, but never prostate cancer," says T-shirt groupie Erica Rose. "This is something that needs to gain awareness."
Canales is also taking a page from Drescher, a uterine cancer survivor who launched the sassy Cancer Schmancer Movement and Foundation. The T-shirt sales will boost the foundation's efforts, as 100 percent of proceeds head directly to the Blue Cure Foundation's coffers.
"It was important to get a celebrity backing to put a spotlight on the battle against prostate cancer," says Canales. "All of the celebrities who have jumped on board are personal friends of mine or friends of friends. They heard about it and wanted to get involved."
Indeed, the Blue Cure T-shirts have caught the eyes of such local fashion plates as Carolyn Farb and international figures like former James Bond Sir Roger Moore, Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, Phoenix Suns players Marcin Gortat and Garret Siler and Real World/Road Rules' Jamie Murray. Also sporting the shirt is former Playboy playmate Hope Dworaczyk. They're all betting that the white shirt will encourage more men to pursue annual screenings in order to avoid the cancer that afflicts one in six men.
Blue Cure Foundation T-shirts retail for $25 and are available at SunAndSki.com.
