The last day of Movember has come and gone, and things got pretty hairy, thanks to two different charitable organizations. They encouraged people to put down the razor blades for a good cause to raise awareness of men’s health issues.
Don’t get it twisted, No-Shave November and Movember take place in the same month, but they’re different. No-Shave Movember is a month-long journey during which participants forgo shaving and grooming to start conversations and raise cancer awareness. Money that might have been spent on grooming can instead go to charity.
Participants in Movember grow out mustaches to make a statement and speak up about men’s mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,200 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way health services reach and support men.
Who did Movember this year?
Movember has plenty of supporters in pro sports, where some leagues also have a tradition of players growing facial hair during a playoff run.
In the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews is among the biggest names who rocked a mustache in Movember, and pledged to shave it off at the end of the month after raising $134,000.
Also, Zac Efron had a mustache this November, according to GQ UK, though it’s not clear if he was observing Movember or just growing out some bushy bristles for a new role.
Check out the Mo Suit
One Australian suit company took Movember to a whole new level this year, making a suit out of facial hair.
This tailored two-piece is crafted from the finest Australian mustache hair (and a few beards).
The suit company POLITIX collaborated with Melbourne-based visual artist Pamela Kleemann-Passi on the Movember Mo-Hair Suit.
Together they raised more than $100,000.
Know the facts about prostate cancer
Growing a mustache for Movember (or making a suit out of many) isn’t just a stunt, though. It’s to spread awareness that men need to be proactive and look out for preventable diseases.
According to the Movember Foundation, men around the globe die 5.1 years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons.
One of those preventable conditions is prostate cancer, one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men.
When detected in its early stages, the five-year survival rate for prostate cancer is 98%. But when found late, the survival rate drops to 26%.
Risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age, but that doesn’t mean it’s a disease that only affects old men.
Prostate cancer is more common in Black men, and men with a family history of the disease, according to survivor and former NFL cornerback Mike Haynes.
So what do you need to do? Go to the doctor. Ask about PSA testing. Catch prostate cancer early.
Know the facts about testicular cancer
According to John Hopkins Medicine, testicular cancer is one of the most common cancers in men ages 20 to 40, with an average age of diagnosis of 33 years old.
But testicular cancer is largely survivable with treatment, and especially when it's caught early. More than 70,000 men are diagnosed each year, and around 7,600 die from it annually. According to Movember, over 575,000 men are living with testicular cancer or are in remission right now.
The best thing you can do for "your boys" is to give them a feel every month or so – get to know what’s normal for you.
Then, if something feels different during your monthly checkup, you can act on it.