Don’t worry, it’s not a typo – Movember is the proper name for the month of November where men join together to grow moustaches (aka the mo) for the whole month in order to fundraise and raise awareness about cancers that affect men. The moustache is Movember’s ribbon, where “Mo Bros” are literally “changing the face of men’s health.” Movember, which originated in Australia, has grown tremendously since its inception in 2003. Last Movember, 255,755 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas (women who support their Mo Bros in bringing attention to men’s health) from all over the world raised $42 million from the generosity of more than one million donors.
This year, Movember will donate the money raised from the US campaign to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and LIVESTRONG. The PCF uses the Movember funds to support research on the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer. The money given to LIVESTRONG will be used for a variety of projects, one of which is Fertile Hope, the fertility preservation initiative dedicated to educating and supporting cancer patients and survivors whose treatments and/or disease put them at risk for infertility. As a Fertile Hope Center of Excellence, the Oncofertility Consortium is excited about the partnership between Fertile Hope and Movember and encourages everyone to support the cause! For more information on male fertility preservation, please call 866-708-FERT (3378) or visit myoncofertility.org.
On a personal note, I am particularly excited about Movember because my husband is part of a Movember team. We each have prostate cancer in our families, so the issue hits close to home. I’ll keep you updated on his progress and share pictures of the ‘stache. It should be a fun (and hairy) adventure! Leave a comment and let us know about your plans to participate in Movember!