Movember and The Moustache Men

The month of November—also known as Movember in some parts of the world—is a month where a band of perfectly ordinary men take on the brave task of growing their moustaches to raise awareness of men’s health issues—notably, diseases such as prostate and testicular cancer. Where did this brilliant idea sprout? It started in Melbourne, Australia about a decade and a half ago, when a group of friends decided to revive an old fashion, the moustache. At first, there were only 30 men who took part in this trend; however, after realizing how much fun it was, they started raising money the following year, primarily to raise prostate cancer awareness. In 2004, the group of men grew to 450 participants and together, they were able to raise 25,000 pounds. That figure may seem staggering until we look at how much this event has grown by 2012. By this time, Movember had become an annual event, taking place in over 20 countries and raising over 92 million pounds.

How can the average hair-grower get involved in such a unique event? Well, it’s not too hard. All you have to do is go to the Movember site and sign yourself up. You can decide if you’re working alone or in a pack, and you can raise awareness for cancer through parties, visiting cancer awareness programs or make up an initiative of your own for the society’s greater good. The money raised will go to Movember, for better awareness in other countries. Movember, as the name implies, is a moustache growing month, therefore it’s preferable to grow only a lip-stache rather than a full beard. You’re a first timer? No worries—if you don’t know anybody else who’s doing this, go and join new social circles and make new friends.

Mr Dave Navis, AISG’s Technology Coach, fought prostate cancer himself, and successfully beat the cancer without a serious operation. He had a surgical procedure done over four years ago, but was then re-diagnosed with prostate cancer about 2 years ago. He didn’t find out about it until he had to get a biopsy and general medical check before he came to AISG. After the tests, one of the blood samples that he had submitted came back with a cancer positive PSA (Prostate-Specific-Antigen). PSA is a substance produced by the prostate. Men usually have levels under 4 (ng/ml); this is used as the cutoff rate to detect chances of cancer. Mr Navis’s blood test came back with a PSA level of around 8. His doctor immediately suggested that he go in for an operation to have his prostate completely removed. Mr Navis says that if he’d had that operation done, he would’ve faced a high probability of living with life-changing inconveniences like wearing a plastic bag to excrete, as the operation would cut one of the nerves that control the regulation of excretion. He decided that he would consult John Hopkins, a leading medical research center in the U.S.

Through his research about prostate cancer, Mr Navis found out that operations with robotics weren’t the only solution. Prostate cancer could be treated in various ways with negligible side effects, such as radiation therapy. This procedure involves sticking small metal rods called seeds (the length of a rice grain, width of pencil lead) around the prostate, with a larger portion of the needles located near the cancer. Whenever the cancer cells tried to multiply, the needles would emit radiation, killing the cells. This therapy went very well for Mr Navis and in the span of under a year he was showing a decrease in PSA levels. The only bizarre side effect that came with the therapy was that once when he was on his way back from Detroit to Hong Kong for Christmas, he was denied boarding, as he was found with traces of radiation on his body: the guards suspected that he was carrying a nuclear weapon! That evening he missed his flight back home and was forced to spend the night in Detroit before he hopped onto the next one the following day.

When asked if he knew about Movember before he was diagnosed, Mr Navis said he’d heard of it, but never really supported the cause. He also mentioned that most afflicted men die from their prostate cancer without it being diagnosed. Mr Navis, after successfully beating one of the most feared diseases on the planet, is now very dedicated to the Movember cause and encourages others to add their support. He wishes that the school could make its community members as aware of prostate cancer as they are of other cancers, such as breast cancer. He feels that those who are afraid to come out for therapy because they have cancer will feel more comfortable looking at the amount of help ready by their side.

Mr Navis makes sure he has new styles for his moustache and sometimes his side burns every year. He recommends all men near and above the age of 50 to get their body checks done, just to stay on the safer side. Most importantly, he never hesitates to seize the opportunity of spreading the word to the world.

AISG’s own version of Movember was judged on November 30, and Mr Little won. See the photos and coverage in Sophie Elliott’s article here.