After Thanksgiving and Halloween comes the wonderful month of Movember, formerly known as November, according to Movember Canada. During this transitional month between fall and winter, men all over the world will be spotted more facial hair than usual as they band together for a worthy cause.
Originally started in Australia, Movember (the combination of “mo” from moustaches and “vember” from November) has grown significantly across the globe with the goal of spreading awareness and raising funds for men’s health, especially prostate cancer. On the first of November, men sign up online on movember.com (with a clean-shaven face) to collect pledges and donations from their friends and family as they embark on a 30 day no-shave journey.
Last year, Movember participants in Canada raised 22.3 million Canadian dollars for the cause, whose proceeds go to Prostate Cancer Canada. The facts do not lie: According to Prostate Cancer Canada, “1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. 1 in 2 men will diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Occurrences of prostate cancer in men is comparable to the rates of breast cancer in women.”
Through the power of moustaches, we are gradually making progress in the world’s attitude towards men’s health.