A crowd of men in bright purple swim briefs is not something you see on a Johannesburg street every day. That was exactly the point, because prostate cancer awareness is a subject many South African men would still rather avoid.
The Run That Got People Talking
On Friday, October 23, men took part in the Hollard Daredevil Race through Johannesburg. The annual event aims to draw attention to prostate cancer, which researchers now describe as the most common cancer in South Africa. The heat in Gauteng was fierce, but nobody seemed to mind.
For participant Motaung Lehasa, the day was personal. He lost two brothers to the disease, and that loss is why he turned up. Several runners were cancer survivors themselves, and they used the moment to urge other men to get checked.
A Silence That Costs Lives
Organisers say prostate cancer is rarely discussed openly among South African men, even though many face a high risk. The research backs that up. A 2023 study of Black men diagnosed in the Free State found that fewer than one in four had heard of prostate cancer before their diagnosis. Another study from the same year, in Limpopo, found that almost two-thirds of men knew too little about it, and more than 80 percent knew nothing about screening methods.
That gap matters. Prostate cancer screening can help doctors find the disease earlier, and earlier detection generally means more treatment options. Yet if a man does not know screening exists, he will not ask for it.
Making Men’s Health South Africa’s Business
Culture plays a part. In many homes, men are raised to be strong, keep quiet and avoid the clinic until something is badly wrong. A cancer awareness campaign that uses humour and a little public embarrassment can break that habit in a way a pamphlet rarely does.
The message for Johannesburg men, and for men across the continent, is simple. If you are older, or if the disease runs in your family, speak to a doctor or clinic about screening. Talk to your brothers, fathers and friends too. Sometimes the bravest thing a man can do is not the run itself, but the conversation that follows.
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