The Movember Foundation has taken over the month of November, bringing awareness to men’s health issues. The foundation focuses on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health concerns, particularly suicide.
Movember is commonly referred to as “No shave November.” Movember calls for men to grow mustaches to raise awareness of men’s health.
The movement started in 2003 with two friends in Melbourne, Australia, who convinced 30 men to grow out mustaches for the month of November. The Foundation has six core values: Fun, Respect, Humble, Team Movember, Remarkable Experience, and Change Agent. These values are simple but meaningful, according to us.movember.com.
The Movember Foundation challenged all universities in the “Big Moustache On Campus (BMOC)” campaign. The foundation is raising funds as colleges and universities across the country bring awareness to prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. The foundation’s goal is to educate students about men’s health and start a competition among all men on campus to grow the nicest mustache.
The staff at Stevenson’s Wellness Center urges male students to support the Movember Foundation by growing out their facial hair to bring awareness to men’s health issues. The Wellness Center also has free giveaway items for those who are participating.
Julie Sanz, assistant director of the Wellness Center and nurse practitioner, explained that the staff sees a need for students to be more vocal about Movember. Sanz advocates that Stevenson’s men’s athletic teams, fraternities, and campus clubs participate in “No shave November” to bring more awareness to the month’s initiatives.
The “No shave November” movement focuses on awareness of prostate and testicular cancers. The American Cancer Society has estimated that there will be nearly 400 deaths in 2018 from testicular cancer. According to the same study, one of every 250 males will develop testicular cancer throughout their lifetime. The incident rate of testicular cancer has been increasing during the past several decades.
The American Cancer Society also estimates that there will be over 164,690 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States. One in every nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer throughout their lifetime, making it the second leading cause of cancer death in American men. According to the American Cancer Society, one man in 41 will die from prostate cancer.
The Movember Foundation notes that about a quarter of all adults in the United States will experience a mental health problem in any year, noting that 75 percent of suicides are men. The campaign in Movember encourages men to seek help through talking and encouraging action in others.
Students are welcome to visit the Wellness Center to learn more about testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and mental health concerns. More information about detection, prevention, and treatment can be found at https://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicular-cancer/about/key-statistics.html.