The month of November kicks off the sixth annual Movember fundraising campaign to raise vital awareness and funds for men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives. Every November, men are encouraged to grow out their moustaches for the entire month in support of men’s health. Last year, Movember raised over half a million dollars in Chicago alone and almost $300 million has been raised worldwide since 2003.
This year’s theme of Movember & Sons, reminds us how knowledge is shared and wisdom gets passed down from one generation to the next. This year Movember & Sons focuses on family and generational health — essentially, the knowledge transfer that happens from dad to son — and then, later in life, from son back to dad.
The Movember campaign goals are as follows:
Survivorship: To fund survivorship initiatives that provide information and support for men and their families affected by prostate and other male cancers that helps them make informed decisions and improves their quality of life, include information about fertility preservation.
Awareness and Education: To significantly increase the understanding of the health risk that men face and encourage men to act on that knowledge.
Prostate Cancer Research: To fund catalytic research and clinical trials infrastructure that leads to significantly improved diagnostic and prognostic tests and treatments to reduce the burden of prostate cancer.
Influencing Change in Men’s Health: To fund research that helps to inform health policy and knowledge translation that accelerates improved health outcomes for men.
The funds raised are directed to programs run directly by Movember and their men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG Foundation. Together, the three channels work together to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programs. For more information on these programs and other Movember initiatives, please visit the following websites: Prostate Cancer Foundation, LIVESTRONG Foundation, Awareness & Education, and Global Action Plan.
So start growing out those moustaches men, and if you’d like to learn more about your reproductive health after a cancer diagnosis, please visit out SaveMyFertility.org or visit our Virtual Patient Navigator.