Gabe Canales
Men’s Health Advocate – Prostate Cancer Survivor
Gabe Canales is a prostate cancer survivor and national activist for men’s health, yet 75 percent of his followers are women. Why? Men tend to resist opening up about their health, but women don’t, and they want to save their male loved ones. Gabe is on a mission to get men more engaged and take life-saving actions.
His own such actions began when he was diagnosed at 35 with what’s long been deemed an old man’s disease. Prostate cancer? Gabe was shocked. A carnivore averse to vegetables, he then devoured knowledge from doctors at five top cancer centers, who told him his life had to change.
Inspired by his medical team, Gabe became dedicated not just to cure himself but to help others with the “cure” of prevention. He made it his mission to stop life-threatening ailments before they start.
That meant launching a movement not only to tackle prostate cancer but to educate everyone about the vital importance of diet, exercise, lifestyle and environmental choices to prevent cancer and other diseases.
Eight years later, Gabe is the hearty, healthy powerhouse behind the nonprofit Blue Cure Foundation, the men’s side of women’s pink breast cancer campaigns. With its fresh life-saving approach, it quickly drew a faithful following and a write-up in Forbes.
Blue Cure aims to change the cancer conversation. While also helping men with cancer to improve their outcomes and supporting work to find elusive cancer cures, Blue Cure is most focused on cancer prevention. With just 10 percent of cancers hereditary and others avoidable, Blue Cure wants Americans to reduce the risks of getting cancer in the first place, not just treat it after the fact.
This life-saving work wouldn’t have happened if the Houston public relations specialist hadn’t received his own surprise prostate cancer diagnosis in his mid-30s. But Gabe has turned potential tragedy into triumph — and he wants to do so for others.
As an advocate for men’s health and seeker of solutions and truth, he has appeared at events and in media across the nation, fighting the stigma against men opening up about their health. A charismatic, enthusiastic and persuasive speaker, Gabe encourages men to be empowered and proactive, largely by making healthy choices about what they eat and put on their bodies and also being wary of the many toxic chemicals in our environment.
Half of American men are diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and prostate cancer is their second highest killer, after lung cancer. Gabe aims not just to help them but anyone who can use the same proactive measures to avoid heart disease, strokes and diabetes.
To spread the word of healthful prevention, he’s been interviewed by radio and television outlets in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and Houston. He’s also contributed to the Huffington Post and Houston Chronicle, has been a TEDx speaker and has addressed many organizations and college groups.
Gabe also has emceed major events advocating cancer prevention, such as MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Ride of a Lifetime. He’s served as panelist for the American Association of Cancer Researchers and Society of Nuclear Medicine Conference and has been a keynote speaker for groups such as the Oregon Urology Association and Indian American Cancer Network.
He also has produced and hosted events supporting cancer prevention through lifestyle and environmental awareness, drawing renowned speakers such as Margaret Cuomo, M.D., author of A World Without Cancer, Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey, researcher and author Dean Ornish, M.D. and environmental activist Erin Brockovich.
Through the Blue Cure Foundation, Gabe also has spearheaded national campaigns, including the “Light it Blue” movement that shines a light on men’s health for September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
Now Gabe stands ready to speak or write for you as a fighter for men’s health.
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