SchnauZug is fighting testicular cancer with Zuger Chriesi

The message is as uncommon as it is unmistakable: "Chnät dini Chriesi - eifacher erkännsch de Chräbs ned, bevor er z’riif isch” (Knead your ‘cherries’ – it’s the easiest way to detect cancer before it develops)," says the yellow poster that is currently hanging in various places in the Canton of Zug. Beside it a Schnauz (moustache) with two hairy "Chriesi" (cherries) that resemble the male genitals being kneaded by a hand. The new campaign of the SchnauZug association is refreshingly different from the ubiquitous politician pictures we’ve seen during the elections.

For more than eight years now, the non-profit association has been carrying out various provocative campaigns in November, always with the aim of sensitizing the population to the subject of testicular and prostate cancer. "This year, we’re targeting the holy Zuger Chriesi," says "SchnauZug" co-founder André Kälin.

The eight-strong organisation committee had asked the question of what men can actually do to help prevention, said Kälin. Because prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in Switzerland, and the highest risk of testicular cancer is borne by men between the ages of 20 and 40. "The simplest method of early detection is self-examination. That is the message of the poster”, explains Kälin.

In addition to the poster campaign, "SchnauZug" can also count on wider support. During November, the buses of the Zugerland public transport company (ZVB) will drive along the roads on the canton with a moustache on their front, and the bakery Nussbaumer, the Baar Brewery, the EVZ hockey club and the company Janssen, which has donated the poster campaign, will also take part in the campaign.

A poster of the "SchnauZug" campaign at Zug train station.

The buses of the Zugerland Verkehrsbetriebe (ZVB) are currently traveling with a moustache on the front.

In addition, many visitors to Zug can grow a moustache and, on November 30, the popular «SchnauZug» benefit gala will take place in the Galvanik. In this way, it has already been possible to raise CHF 150,000 for the Central Switzerland Cancer League (Krebsliga) over the past eight years according to André Kälin. That the SchnauZug movement has meanwhile also developed its own momentum is shown by the following action: On November 12, unknown persons stuck a huge moustache on the façade of the Zug railway station. "It wasn’t us," emphasises André Kälin, "but every moustache is important for our campaign."

The greatest risk of testicular cancer is for men between 20 and 40 years of age, and the number of testicular cancer diagnoses has doubled over the past 50 years. Testicular cancer is also the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men under 40 years old, with the number of new cases being above average in Switzerland.

The chance of recovery is 99% if it is detected at an early stage (stage I), Even if the testicular cancer has already spread to the lymph nodes, the chances of recovery are still at 90 %. Chemotherapy is needed in most cases, however. It becomes more critical at the very advanced stage (stage III), with distant metastasis. The cure rate with the right therapy is still close to 50 percent here. There are often only months between the various stages, so an early diagnosis can therefore be crucial.

It is best to consult a doctor immediately if you have any of the following symptoms: swelling/hardening of a testicle (usually painless), a feeling of tension/heaviness in the testicles or groin, fluid accumulation in the scrotum, touch sensitivity in the area of ​​the testes, swelling of the mammary gland.

Source: Krebsliga Central Switzerland / Schnauzug. Further information is available at: www.schnauzug.ch and centralschweiz.krebsliga.ch