If you go to a Major League Baseball game on Father's Day, you'll see ballplayers wearing blue wristbands, ribbons and other items to support the Prostate Cancer Foundation, which encourages early testing for this cancer.

You don't have to be a ball player to participate in the Wear Blue campaign. Nor do you have to stick to Father's Day. You can designate any day in June and hold events, like health fairs, fund raisers, walks and seminars. You'll find plenty of ideas at the Men's Health Month website.

June has been designated Men’s Health Month, which is intended to raise awareness of all preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.

About half of all men develop one of three prostate diseases: enlarged prostate, prostate cancer or prostatitis. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the medical term for an enlarged prostate. This non-cancerous disorder may result in a range of uncomfortable symptoms such as frequent urination, inability to empty the bladder, a weak urine stream or difficulty starting urination. Because the prostate is part of the sex organs, some men have difficulty talking about it. A web site called the Mans Gland Archive uses humor to educate men (and the women who love them) about the prostate.

We all know the stereotype that men don't ask for directions. They also don't go willingly to the doctor for regular medical advice and early treatment of disease or injury. Here's why it is so important that men look after their health. Consider:

 •   On average, men live 5 years less than women

•   1 in 2 men (and 1 in 3 women) will develop cancer in their lifetime

•   1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer and approximately 28,000 men will die from the disease this year

•   Men make up over 92% of workplace deaths.

Don't let fear or ignorance get in the way of your health; go for a check-up and a health screening.