If you notice town hall is kind of blue over the month of September, it’s not in honour of Miles Davis’ seminal album, released in August of 1959. Instead, it’s because the District is participating in the Canadian Prostate Cancer Foundation’s Light Up In Blue initiative, “to raise awareness about the importance of scheduling annual prostate exams to ensure early detection.”
According to the website prostatemonth.ca, there are more 120 Canadian landmarks shining blue on select days throughout September.
“These iconic locations included BC Place, Kelowna Sails, Alberta Legislature, High Level Bridge, Atlas Hotel, Regina City Hall, Dauphin City Hall, Winnipeg Sign, CN Tower, Burlington Pier, Sofitel Montreal, Dieppe City Hall, Fredericton City Hall, Cabot Tower, Dartmouth Alderney Landing, The Holman Grand, and the Yukon Legislative Assembly to name a few.”
While many sites will be only lit for a day, town hall will be blue all month.
According to the Prostate Cancer Society, the colour blue has historically been associated with men, which aligns with prostate cancer primarily affecting males. “It embodies hope, compassion, and unity in the face of the most prevalent cancer in men. Blue represents the empowerment and solidarity of the patients, partners, and loved ones affected by prostate cancer, and the commitment of our community to providing support, resources, and advocacy.”
One in eight Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. The biggest factor is age. It has been said that all men will develop prostate cancer if they live long enough, and well over half of men that live to the age of 70 develop at least traces of prostate cancer.
It is also more prevalent in African-Canadian and Caribbean-Canadian. “Black men are 76 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than other Canadian men and are 2.3 times more likely to die from their prostate cancer.”
Having a genetic predisposition towards cancer—not just prostate cancer, but breast or ovarian cancer, too—increases a man’s likelyhood of developing prostate cancer. If a man has the BRCA2, or ‘breast cancer’, gene in his family, this also increases prostate cancer risk, as does diet and obesity.
This is the second year town hall will be in blue; moving forward, this will be an annual event, as council has passed a motion to do this every year moving forward.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
