I learned about Movember from Clark Howard, the ultimate (IMHO) consumer advocate.
He was discussing it during one his recent radio broadcasts. So I went after more information because I know firsthand that we guys tend to let our medical health get away from us. Too many times we either ignore symptoms (hoping they’ll go away) or we assign them to non-dangerous happenings (e.g., growing old). Of course, we don’t want to show that we are weak. I’m still trying to figure out how going to a medical specialist, even a doctor, to stay alive and well, somehow exudes weakness.
I lost two professional colleagues, both noted scientists, to different forms of cancer. Both experienced symptoms and both ignored them until it was too late. I swore at that time that I’d be a health advocate. And I practice what I preach, undertaking annual physicals, eating healthier, and visiting my physician when needed. I am also an avid supporter of the Komen Race For The Cure because my wife is a breast cancer survivor. And there’s no one out there that doesn’t recognize the pink ribbons and myriad of corporate supporters that line up to support research and awareness of that disease.
Advocating men’s health
So, when I heard of Movember, a movement to foster men’s health awareness and research (specifically for prostate cancer), I knew I had to get involved.
Movember, a conjunction of “moustache” and “November” affords a time each year to focus on men’s health. But, as we all know, good health knows no monthly limits. It really needs to be a year-long activity.
Each November, the Movember Foundation challenges men to change their appearance and the “face of men’s health” by growing a moustache. According to the Foundation, “The moustache is our ribbon, the means by which we raise awareness and funds for cancers that affect men. Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, our commitment is to grow a moustache for 30 days. Funds raised benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG (a registered trademark of the Lance Armstrong Foundation).”
Movember had humble beginnings. It started with a chance conversation between Luke Slattery and Travis Garone, two Australian blokes, in 2003. While discussing the comeback of fashion trends from the past, the question, “why no return of the moustache?” surfaced. Shortly thereafter, 30 men grew moustaches on a dare.
The next year, the Movember Foundation was born with 450 men growing “staches.” While doing so, they raised $55,000, the largest single donation to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia at the time. As a result, the moustache became Movember’s badge and the effort to make men walking billboards for men’s health was born.
As of mid-November, more than a million men and women have taken the pledge to foster men’s health. I am one of these.
I won’t dwell further on the history here. You can read all about it on page 11 of the Foundation’s 2010 Annual Report.
But, Movember has now gained international status with efforts underway in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and several countries in Europe. And in 2009 alone, around a quarter of a million donors raised $40 million (USD) that support collaborative research and education/awareness efforts.
Moustaches, themselves…
All of this got me to think about moustaches. I’ve grown one in the past, but it rarely lasts very long. Still, it was easy to sprout one this November (Fig. 1) for the cause.
But, so did my two grandsons in Minnesota (Fig. 2)!
But, in addition to my family (not that we are famous), here is a partial list of truly famous moustache wearers, some from the Movember web site and others from my memory:
Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie character)
Burt Reynolds (movie – Smokey and the Bandit)
Albert Einstein (scientist)
Charlie Chaplin (silent screen actor)
Colonel Sanders (Finger Lickin’ Good)
George Harrison (member of Beatles)
Tom Selleck (Magnum PI)
Wild Bill Hickok (Western lawman)
Mr. Potato Head (Hasbro game character)
Hulk Hogan (wrestler)
Salvadore Dali (artist)
Unfortunately, there is the usual cast of villains who sport “staches,” as well. Ming the Merciless (Flash Gordon fame), Dick Dastardly (cartoon character) and Adolf Hitler are three of the most noteworthy.
I’ll stick with the positive, however. Movember is a wonderful idea with laudable goals. Hopefully, this article and those people who have asked me about my moustache will foster even more awareness. Nothing would be better than increasing and fostering men’s health.
© 2010 H. Michael Mogil
