Hart backs Movember message on men’s health

Brothers Bret and Smith Hart spent years battling each other and countless other opponents in the wrestling ring.

But it never prepared them for a prostate cancer battle they both had to face at the same time.

Diagnosed in January 2016, Bret says he is thankful his was caught early.

“We were diagnosed at almost the same time. As I was going into surgery, he was just starting to find out his cancer was spiralling out of control,” he said.

“I think my brother Smith was stubborn, as I was, looking for some sort of secret saving grace. In the end, you realize it is what it is.

“I started getting checked when I was 40. I got checked, I was lucky.”

His brother, however, wasn’t so lucky. Smith lost his battle on July 2, 2017 — a day his brother Bret said he wished never came.

“He would always look at me every day with this sad, empty look in his face and said, ‘I just wish I got checked’ — he said it every day for the last six months he was alive,” he said.

“I really think it was a failure on my brother’s part ... he just always ignored the warnings.”

Bret feels that the message about the need for men to get checked for cancer is slowly but steadily starting to get out — largely due to the Movember campaign.

The campaign, which runs through November, sees many men grow a moustache as a way of raising awareness surrounding men’s health issues, such as prostate and testicular cancer.

Many also raise funds to donate to cancer-related research and prevention causes.

“Movember is like ringing a bell, reminding everybody how this is cancer that strikes everyone’s family in some way, sooner than later,” he said.

“I think what Movember does with the moustaches is really good. It sends out a simple but strong message across the country. You see a lot of bad moustaches this time of year, but you also know the message is getting out.

“Just going out there and getting your blood work done can save your life.”