"It only takes a minute to get to that place where you aren’t scared anymore and you either get angry or you get determined to sort it out," - Samuel L. Jackson

The Bad-Ass Prophet

NAME: Samuel L Jackson
JOB: Actor and campaigner
SPECIALTY: Cancer, monologues

Cult actor, scratch golfer, former drug addict and consummate cool cat, this maverick is chairman of One For The Boys, a game-changing campaign to fight male cancer with fashion shows, music festivals, sporting events and karaoke nights.

Men seem to pay attention to me for some reason. So I got involved with One For The Boys because I thought it was a worthwhile cause to lend that voice.

When it comes to cancer, the world is way more pink than blue. Conversations immediately focus on the women’s issues: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, all of those things. But that’s because women deal with it. We’ve been raised in this macho culture where men are strong and resilient and silent. We tend to talk about injuries rather than illnesses.

It’s kind of sad. Guys will happily go for a physical to check their weight or their blood, but they don’t talk about a strange feeling they have in their groin because they tell themselves it’ll blow away or it’ll pass. Before you know it, they’ve waited too long and it’s too late.

MORE: The two life-saving words men struggle to say

I figured that it would be a good idea to have an awareness campaign that had a serious tone but done in a way that men could accept on another level. Hence the fashion shows and the karaoke and so on. The idea was that by using the kind of banter that is related to me it could have more of an effect and start getting people’s attention. It seems to have worked quite well.

I don’t preach to people about how they should use their bodies when they’re young. Or what their choice of, let’s say, recreational activities should be. Because you know, I had a really good time for a long time. (Jackson had serious drug addictions in the Eighties.) But even though I was working and I was active, I was abusing myself. I didn’t know anything about my biological history, about the addictive personalities and alcoholism in my family. I just say: live your life, but have some understanding about who you are and where you come from. Watch the tendencies, notice the patterns, and if they’re bad, change it.

I’m more interested in getting men to talk more openly with each other. Rather than worrying about something alone, men can get checked out as buddies. I had a friend who went with me to a clinic for a full-on physical. We spent 12 hours together. It was cool. I found out things about myself, he found out things about himself, and we talked about it.

“Men play football together, they work out together, but they don’t do health stuff together – and they should.

We started a special diet together and that became a bond in itself. Women do it all the time: you know, let’s do a cleanse, or let’s go to the spa. Guys should do the same. Men play football together, they work out together, but they don’t do health stuff together – and they should.

I don’t think it’s a case of underestimating prostate cancer. It’s just that when you hear the word, you equate it with death. But what we do underestimate is the fact that we’ve come a long way in terms of cancer research and that there are things that can be done. I’ve had things that I thought were just minor pains which turned out to be something else that was caught in time. It only takes a minute to get to that place where you aren’t scared anymore and you either get angry or you get determined to sort it out. You need to look around you, figure out the worth of your life and how you want to live the rest of your life. The sooner you can figure that out, the better off you’re going to be.

GALLERY: Seven signs you've got healthy swimmers

The Jackson Five

The facts are out there, cancer is not unknown territory. What is less clear is how men talk to each other about it and that can be an added danger. Take our quiz to check yourself before you wreck yourself, so you don’t have to ask “what?” again.

Q1. A friend asks if you’ll come with him to a prostate exam. Do you . . .
A: Say you’ll do it too, as long as there are beers afterwards
B: Ask him if he’s ever had a finger up there before
C: Run

Q2. At said prostate exam, you start to get nervous. Do you . . .
A: Quietly remind yourself that you’ll just be, err, in and out
B: Tell yourself that you only need to do it once
C: Stand outside the clinic and pretend you were just quicker than your friend when he finds you.

Q3. There’s a dull ache that you’ve been having for weeks so you . . .
A: Bring it up in a conversation with a mate, agree that you should probably deal with it and book up with your GP
B: Take enough paracetamol that you rattle like a snake on a plane
C: Think it’ll pass, and plan a bigger weekend than The Hangover

Q4. Your desk buddy has been taking numerous days off and lets on that his doctor found malignant cells . . .
A:
B: Tell him they have a cure for that nowadays
C: Say you’re sorry to hear it, clench up as tight as a tourniquet and make tactical trips to the kitchen for the rest of the day

Q5. When you think of the big C, you think of . . .
A: Kicking arse and taking names
B: A black cloud
C: The reaper

Mostly As: SAM’S MAN
You’re clued up, not afraid to talk and exactly the kind
of bloke who will be responsible for changing the face
of cancer. Spread the word.

Mostly Bs: TRY HARD
You’re not far off the mark, and you get stuck into
the conversation, but you could do with being a little
more knowledgeable. One in two Australian men will
be diagnosed with cancer by age 85. So it’s in your
interests to read up.

Mostly Cs: SHAFTED
You’ve got all the gear and no idea. Buck up and get
onto onefortheboys.com or visit cancer.org.au.