Movember

Think about how many men you have in your life that are important to you. Chances are that you are able to come up with more than a few individuals, whether they are husbands, grandfathers, friends, fathers, or even yourself. Because so many that you hold dear are in fact men, you should be aware of an amazing foundation called The Movember Foundation!

So what is it? They are a foundation that seeks to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health, with a special emphasis on prostate and testicular cancer as well as men’s mental health. The delivery of their message is done brilliantly – striking up conversations with a home grown au naturel mustache. Through the “Mo”, we can help to spread the word and educate the men in our community against these scary statistics:

• Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men in the US. 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime
• In 2014, more than 233,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer
• 1 in 36 men will die from prostate cancer, which is about 22% of all men diagnosed with prostate cancer
• Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men aged 15-35 years old, and we are seeing about around 8,820 new cases annually
• More than four times as many men as women die by suicide in the US. In 2010 a total of 38,364 Americans died by suicide, of which 79% were men
• 1 in 4 adult men in the US will experience a mental health problem in a given year including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychosis and schizophrenia, and eating disorders

The Movember Foundation began back in 2003 when some friends decided to grow a “Mo” to support men’s health after being inspired by one of their mom’s battle with breast cancer. The challenge began with merely 30 guys, and over the years has been growing at an exponential rate. Since its creation, Movember has raised $559 million USD alone, and funded 770 different men’s health projects. Their influence doesn’t end at the US, and now includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.

All over the world, men who participate in Movember (called Mo Bros) take action to change the face of men’s health by starting clean shaven on November 1^st and grow a mustache for the entire month. The mustache works as a conversation opener to deliver the message behind the foundation, and to get more people donating and involved. For the fairer sex who are involved, called Mo Sistas, there are no mustaches to be grown; only straightforward campaigning and fundraising to support the men in the community. Both Mo Bros and Mo Sista’s follow a set of rules put in place to keep the vision of the foundation intact:

• Once registered at movember.com, each mo bro must begin the 1^st of Movember with a clean shaven face.
• For the entire month of Movember each mo bro must grow and groom a mustache.
• Don’t fake it. No beards, no goatees, no fake moustaches
• Use the power of the mustache to create conversations about men’s health and to raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health.
• Each mo bro must conduct himself like a true gentleman….

So how do you get involved? Since it’s after the first of the month, it’s too late to start growing your own Mo if you haven’t already started this year. However, it’s never too late to start campaigning and try to raise donations for men’s health! If you are interested in signing up, go to www.movember.com to complete a short registration. If campaigning isn’t your thing, then you can always look up an individual or group who has already joined the Movember foundation and donate directly to them! Every dollar makes a difference!

Cascades Center for Dental Health is proud to be part of the Movember Foundation. Visit Movember.com to donate to one of our team members today!