November 22, 2024
PA Images/Sipa USA
The Movember campaign encourages men to grow mustaches during November to raise awareness and fundraising for men's health issues. Above, Neil Jennings shows off his mustache after shaving his beard in London on Oct. 31, 2021.
Men die, on average, about five years earlier than women, and their deaths often are from mostly-preventable causes.
To address this disparity, the Movember Foundation has a hairy proposition for men and their families every November – spend the entire month growing a mustache to spur conversations about men's health and raise funds for special projects.
The effort began two decades ago among 30 men. It's grown into a global advocacy campaign with more than 5 million participants – both men and women.
Back in 2003, Movember Foundation founders Travis Garone and Luke Slattery met one day for a beer in Melbourne, Australia. They ended up discussing how mustaches were no longer in fashion, and how they wanted to bring them back.
They recruited 30 guys to their mission and quickly found that their mustache challenge was a great way to jumpstart important health conversations among men.
Brian Heilman, a senior researcher at the Movember Research Institute, said the two friends realized that joking around was a good way to start these important conversations.
"It is easier to ask, 'What is going on with your lip, Paul?' than directly asking about a person's health," Heilman said. "Men are less likely to check in with each other about health issues."
Many men grow up in cultures that urge them fight through injuries on sports fields, and they take that attitude into their personal lives, Heilman said. Men are told to go alone at all costs, he added, but it's not possible to tough one's way out of serious health issues – and that's especially true when it comes to mental health.
The Movember Foundation focuses on three main causes: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention. Prostate cancer affects more than 10.8 million men around the world, and testicular cancer is the most common cancer among men 15 to 39. In the U.S., men make up 50% of the population but account for nearly 80% of suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since its inception, Movember has funded more than 1,300 health projects throughout the world, including the Ironman Registry, which collects medical data from 5,000 men with advanced prostate cancer in an effort to improve treatment and care. It has created the Indigenous Social And Emotional Wellbeing Portfolio, which seeks to reduce health disparities among Indigenous people, and the Young Men's Health – Sports Health Initiative, which aims to boost mental health through sports.
Heilman said Movember is making progress in helping men recognize the importance of preventive care.
"Our campaign is successful, fun and relatable while giving men important tools and resources," he said. "We are not a household name in the U.S. yet, but hope to become (one). More mustaches, more funds."
The mustaches in November – the campaign's original hook – get a lot attention, but Heilman said the Movember Foundation encourages women and people who can't grow mustaches to participate, too.
Andrew Still, 35, a commercial insurance broker in Cherry Hill, joined the movement in 2010 at the request of a friend whose brother had testicular cancer. He was a sophomore in college at the time. Now, he's a Movember Ambassador, supporting local Movember events and fundraising.
"My fundraising goal every year is $2,500 but (I'm) trying for $10,000 this year," Still said.
Still said he stayed involved because he desires to encourage men to be more open about their mental health, noting he had a friend who died by suicide when Still was 16.
"We need to normalize talking about our health, because if you catch them early enough, many of these conditions are preventable," Still said.
Men can be reluctant to visit the doctor for a variety of reasons, health experts say, including a belief that they can fix any issues themselves. They also may be embarrassed to seek help, particularly regarding sexual health, or fear a serious diagnosis. But a lack of preventative care at younger ages increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other serious conditions.
Still said stigmas prevent many men from talking about their health — particularly their mental health — because they feel that being manly means acting like everything is OK.
Dr. Edward DaVeiga, an associate professor of clinical medicine at Temple University, said men in their 20s to 40s have long neglected their health unless they experience adverse symptoms.
"Men try to take care of their health on their own unless incentivized by their company or they start to develop symptoms," he explained. "Women have more touchpoints during their childbearing years where they will see their doctor."
When young men come in with issues like sprained ankles or to test their testosterone levels, he encourages them to get a regular health workup.
"In their 40s, men will come in more if they have developed an issue like headaches, high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction or just not feeling well, because they haven't been taking care of themselves," he added.
DaVeiga said the biggest issues he sees are obesity, smoking and underdiagnosed or undertreated mental health conditions. Sometimes, he can pick up on underlying mental health issues when patients report high levels of alcohol consumption or marijuana use.
He also sees a lot of younger men develop type 2 diabetes – a condition that people doesn't typically create symptoms until it is full-blown. Then, men may experience neuropathy or erectile dysfunction.
"For men, their 50s is time when a lot of screenings are recommended, like the ones for prostate and colon cancer," DaVeiga said. "This is the time their partners usually say, 'this has to happen now.'"
It is important to have loved ones encourage the men in their lives to see a doctor, he said. Even younger men should get exams every 1 to 2 years so that any health concerns may be caught early.
Dr. Benjamin Larson, an internal medicine specialist at Main Line Health, said the key is to get young men connected to primary care doctors. For some, it can be a matter of having access to good health care.
"Get a primary doctor," Larson urged men. "If (you) don't have one, get one and make sure you go once a year. It is the easiest way to stay on top of health."
