I’m Not The Only Birckbichler Who is Passionate About Testicular Cancer Awareness

Recently, my little sister (who isn’t so little anymore, but I refuse to accept that) gave a presentation to her class about testicular cancer. I’ll let her explain it more in her words below, but since she did such a good job with her original HBA, I asked her to write a piece about her speech. 

What can I talk about?

I had an assignment to give an informative speech for senior English, and one of the requirements was to pick a topic that you felt that you were an expert on. This requirement made my decision hard because I don’t feel that I am an expert on any one topic in particular.

I decided to do my speech on testicular cancer and men’s health because of Justin. Since I look up to him and his efforts to spread men’s health awareness, I thought, “Why shouldn’t I help?” Even if it is only to twenty people in my class, it’s twenty more people that now have the knowledge they didn’t have before.

My four minute speech, which included important facts and statistics about men’s health, testicular cancer, and why no one should be afraid to talk about it, went off without a hitch, earning me a 98%. Following the speech, I handed out self check cards to all the boys in my class.

My reflections on talking about testicular cancer awareness

When I look back on this experience, I think, “Wow, I am proud of myself for discussing men’s health in front of my class.” This thought is followed with, “Wow, that was really weird to talk about men’s health and testicles in front of my class!” Being a girl made it somewhat uncomfortable to talk about this subject, but the more I spoke about it, the more comfortable I became. By the end of the speech, I realized I was no longer afraid to talk about men’s health with my classmates.

Now, I don’t think I will be nearly as afraid or uncomfortable to talk about men’s health and testicular cancer. Being a female should not make you afraid to talk about men’s health, as it could save a life. Going forward, if I have to do another assignment where I can choose the topic, I think I will choose to report on testicular cancer or men’s health again. Even if it is not an assignment, I would be open to talking about this topic again.