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The heartbreaking reason Megan Gale's taking cancer on

Megan Gale has revealed the heartbreaking pain behind her latest charity endeavor, admitting she’s raising money for men's health for a very personal reason.

Appearing on the Today show, the 41-year-old model revealed it was the devastating loss of her partner, AFL player Shaun Hampson's father in 2014, followed by her own father just a few months later, that spurred her to get involved with Movember.

Megan and partner Shaun. Source: Getty
Megan and partner Shaun. Source: Getty
Megan recently spoke about her father's death. Source: Instagram
Megan recently spoke about her father's death. Source: Instagram

"Movember and men's health is a cause close to my heart and my partner has been doing it for three years," Megan told hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sylvia Jeffreys.

"His dad passed away from prostate cancer. My dad sadly passed away a few months later. Men's health is very much in the forefront our minds and something we are very passionate about."

Movember encourages men around the country to grow a mo to bring awareness to prostate cancer and men's health issues.

This year the mother-of-one is an official Mo Sister, teaming up with Uncle Jack Watches and Movember to design a limited edition watch, with 10% of proceeds going to charity organisation.

Until recently, Megan has said very little about the loss of her dad.

But jast week, she and Shaun revealed to the Herald Sun that the birth of their son was bookended by loss of their fathers.

Megan has teamed up with Movember. Source: Instagram
Megan has teamed up with Movember. Source: Instagram

“To go through Dad passing, and then a month later, having the sheer joy of your son being born, it was kind of bitter sweet,” Shaun told the publication.

“It was kind of the best year for us, and the worst year as well in a lot of ways,” Megan added.

The couple, who have been together since 2011, welcomed their first child River in May 2014.

Megan later revealed her own dad died from "asbestos related lung cancer" in a moving Instagram post.

The model has teamed up with Uncle Jack Watches and Movember. Source: Instagram
The model has teamed up with Uncle Jack Watches and Movember. Source: Instagram

"I didn't plan on speaking about my Dad's passing in this interview as I haven't really publicly divulged this very painful part of my life until now," the Australia's Next Top Model judge wrote.

"One, it's just been too difficult to talk about. Two, there was never really the appropriate forum to do so until now and lastly, I really wanted to respect my family & their privacy and not draw attention to Dad when he was unwell and to the family after he'd passed.

"While it's still not been an easy thing for me to talk about, seeing as Shaun and myself were with @lukedennehy to speak about @Movember and men's health, it just seemed like the right opportunity to open up about this. My dear Dad left us back in August 2014 from asbestos related lung cancer. Back in the day, he worked for years in asbestos filled environments, well before we knew just how fatal asbestos could be and the full impact it had on people's health," she added.

Megan detailed her father's battle with stage 4 lung cancer in the lengthy post before encouraging everyone "to listen to their bodies, don't dismiss or delay any visits to the doctor (perhaps even get a second opinion) and stay on top of your health."

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During her Today interview Megan reiterated the point, admitting the, "statistics are shocking" when it came Australian men's chances of being diagnosed with cancer.

"One of the ones quite alarming is one in two Australian men will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85. That is quite scary," she said.

"Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer amongst Australian men. I think one thing that men can do is not be so dismissive about any kind of symptoms. It is not to panic people thinking, "I have cancer, I have to go to the doctor." Women are guilty, but men are quite reluctant to talk about health, stay on top of their health, go to the doctor, especially the older generation."

Shaun is also an ambassador. Source: Instagram
Shaun is also an ambassador. Source: Instagram

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