Grow A Moustache And Save Men’s Lives
The international campaign to promote the growth of moustaches on the top lips of men throughout November each year began in Australia in 2003 as a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of male cancers.
With Prostate cancer being one of the main killers of men world-wide, the organisers of the 1st Movember campaign, wanted to highlight the appalling figures in deaths among men from this form of cancer each year.
On average men die five to six years younger than women. The suicide rate is four times higher for men than women and more than five men die prematurely each hour from potentially preventable illnesses.
These are hard hitting facts; especially when you consider that there is no biological disadvantage that puts men at greater risk than women and according to recent research up to half of male cancer cases could be prevented by making healthy diet and lifestyle choices.
The reasons for the current state of men’s health are numerous and complex but it appears that the biggest issue is the way in which men think about their health; preventative health being something many men just don’t compute.
It is this issue that Movember’s Awareness and Education program is working hard to change. Awareness and education alters behaviour and mind-sets, it gradually breaks down barriers, removes stigmas and brings about real change.
Movember wants men to take responsibility for their health, prevent illness by leading a healthy lifestyle and understand the symptoms and signs in both themselves and others so they can appreciate when and how to seek help if needed.
Prostate Cancer Facts
• One man dies every hour of prostate cancer in the UK.
• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK
• In the UK 37,000 men are diagnosed every year, this is the equivalent of 100 per day.
• 1 in 9 men will get prostate cancer in the UK
• 250,000 men are living with prostate cancer
• 10,000 men die every year from prostate cancer in the UK
Only men can get prostate cancer and the risk factors associated with it are:
• Ethnicity: African Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer.
• Family: you are 2.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer if your father or brother has had
• Diet: if you have a diet rich in fat, dairy products and red meat, this may increase your risk of developing prostate cancer (and other health conditions).
• It is important that men of all ages are aware of their prostate and prostate cancer.
The above information is just a small snippet from the CWU letter to branches, LTB938/11, issued this week (7th November) in order to bring to member’s attention the need to publicise the campaign and encourage men to take their health more seriously.
Dave Joyce, CWU’s National Health, Safety & Environment Officer explains in detail about male cancers and the Movember campaign in the LTB:
Movember is an annual, international, month-long campaign, during November each year, highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.
Central to the campaign is a novel, fun-based approach whereby volunteer fund-raisers celebrate the moustache. The Movember Campaign starts on November 1st when clean shaven volunteers have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache. During Movember, each volunteer fund-raiser effectively becomes a walking billboard for "Men’s Health" and, via their Moustache, raises essential funds and raises awareness for Movember’s men’s health partners, The Prostate Cancer Charity and The Institute of Cancer Research by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health. At the end of Movember, a series of Gala events are held to thank volunteers for their support and fund raising efforts.
Movember has continued to grow each year, both in terms of participation numbers and funds raised. In its first year 30 volunteer fund-raisers known as "Mo-Bros" took part in Movember and last year, across the globe more than 447,000 people got on board, raising more than £48.6 million for the Movember’s men’s health charities globally.
To date, Movember has raised over £108.5 million globally for the fight against prostate cancer and depression in men. And, more importantly, as a direct result, male awareness of health issues has improved with Movember helping to spread health messages directly to millions of around the world.
Going forward, Movember will continue to work towards helping to change established habits and attitudes and make men aware of the risks they face, thereby increasing early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment.
Research encouragingly shows that participation in Movember does encourage men to proactively engage in the management of their health. However, findings also highlighted that 50% of men had ignored an issue rather than go to a doctor. This is proof that there is still work to be done and Movember has a responsibility to keep raising awareness, thereby motivating and engaging men around the world to change the face of men’s health.
Two CWU officials passionate about raising awareness and funds for men's health; specifically prostate and testicular cancer, are Davie Bowman CWU HQ, T&FS Assistant Secretary and Paul Moffat CWU Eastern Regional Secretary will be donating their time and top lip to the cause for 30 days in an effort to help change the face of men's health, sparking conversations, and no doubt generating some laughs; all in the name of raising vital awareness and funds for cancer's affecting men.
Their efforts deserve your support - Davie and Paul are asking you to support their Movember campaign by making a donation in support of their campaign:
Davie Bowman
Donating online at: http://mobro.co/DavieBoPeep or write a cheque payable to 'Movember', reference Davie Bowman and Registration Number 1515858 and send it to: Movember Europe, PO Box 68600, London, EC1P 1EF
Paul Moffat
Donating online at: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/299330/
and https://www.movember.com/uk/register/details/team_id/259704 or write a cheque payable to 'Movember', reference Paul Moffat and Registration Number 299330 and send it to: Movember Europe, PO Box 68600, London, EC1P 1EF
Branches wishing to post donation forms through to Paul Moffat please complete the forms and post to the following address where Paul will collate responses and send off.
Eastern Regional Offices, 112 Newport Road, New Bradwell Milton Keynes. MK13 0AA
Further information and associated documents are available in the full LTB938/11 downloadable here
The E-Library Database contains info on Prostate Cancer which can be found by selecting 'cancer' from the 'category' box.
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Source: CWU
