Movember – Changing the Face of Men’s Health

A few weeks ago, I saw a tweet about a friend of a friend letting his beard grow for the entire month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues. I automatically turned to the girlfriend and told her that I’d love to do that. Much to her happiness, I cannot take part due to the regulations that govern the wear and appearance of the military uniform. So I thought nothing more of it.

Less than a week ago, I was fortunate enough to grab some free tickets to the Nashville Predator’s game against the San José Sharks. It was my first ever hockey game and I must say that I’m hooked. I’ve even bought some tickets to some more games this season, but I’ll get more into that at a later date. I digress.

While sitting at the game, I saw an ad on the jumbotron about Movember, a way to raise awareness and money for men’s health issues. My immediate thought was back to that tweet. Even though I cannot grow a beard or goatee, Movember is definitely something that I can do! Growing a “MO” is allowed in the regulations as long as it’s “neatly trimmed, tapered, and tidy.”

I came home after the game and checked out the Movember website to see what Movember is all about. I won’t bore you with the entire history of Movember, but I’ll give you the SAV (Stan’s Abbreviated Version). It originated in Australia in the late 90s. It made its way to the states in 2007. It merged with Tacheback last year. It’s all about raising funds and awareness for men’s health issues such as prostate and testicular cancer.

Both of these hit home pretty hard for me. A good friend of mine lost her teenage brother to testicular cancer while I was deployed in 2009 and my father lost his battle with prostate cancer this summer. This is something that I’ll definitely be participating in for years to come.

My goal this year is to increase the awareness of men’s health issues and to raise $250 in the process. The monies raised are directed to programs run directly by Movember and our men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. If you would like to give, check out my mo space page. I would greatly appreciate it!