Prostate Health
One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime.
In 2012 242,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed in the U.S. and more than 28,000 men will die of prostate cancer.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in American males between the ages of 15 and 35; 8,590 men will be diagnosed with the disease in 2012 and 360 will die.
Prevention
Young men should conduct a testicular self-exam every month.
Men age 50 and up should have a yearly prostate screening; those with a family history should begin the screenings at age 40.
In addition all men should:
Have annual physical.
Know your family history.
Don’t smoke.
Be physically active.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Source: us.movember.com
For more information: us.movember.com/
Movember pages for:
David Ronald Peden: us.movember.com/mospace/674698
Shane Mixon: us.movember.com/mospace/736190
Scott Beyer: us.movember.com/mospace/2844729
Health questions? Ignore them. That’s the default plan for most men.
But ignoring health won’t help the 242,000 men who will get prostate cancer this year.
To encourage a new approach, health activists are sending their brothers a message: The wisdom of health awareness is as plain as the mustache on my face.
David Ronald “Ronnie” Peden, a prostate cancer survivor, is among the million-plus men around the globe growing facial hair during the month of November to fight prostate and testicular cancer.
“You see a lot of information about women’s health issues and breast cancer, but as far as men’s health and prostate cancer, you hardly ever hear about it,” said Peden, 65, a Conyers resident. Peden has gathered a crowd of co-workers at the Sherwin-Williams plant in Morrow to join the effort, all striving to improve their whiskers.
Originating in Australia (where a mustache is a “mo”), the movement became known as “Movember” (men growing a mo in November) and turns its participants into walking billboards for prostate health. Peden and others also create websites where followers can contribute cash to the effort.
Shane Mixon, owner of two Saba restaurants, said he was happy to become a “Mo Bro” since growing a mustache seemed like a low-stress way to raise money for prostate research and cancer prevention. “All I had to sacrifice was a little bit of my dignity, with people making fun of me.” Mixon, 41, raised $1,300 last year.
“The moustache is our ribbon,” reads the Movember web site (us.movember.com/), “the symbol by which we generate conversations.” Said Mixon, “If you have a crazy mustache, you want to try to explain to people why you have it.”
Scott Beyer is among nine members of Team Yahoo! Mo-Lanta whose fund-raising will be matched by their company.
“It’s a good reason to grow out a cheesy mustache in my opinion,” said Beyer, 35, an eight-year cancer survivor.
Movember participants agree to start with a clean slate, often staging a “shave-off” on Nov. 1. Then the race begins. Mo Bros post regular photographs of the progress as their handlebars flourish.
Most of them don’t flourish all that much. Thirty days rarely turns Captain Peach Fuzz into Tom Selleck. To those just starting out, that’s not a big deal, but Peden, who had a mustache for more than 40 years before he shaved down for his first Movember, gave up a full Sam Elliott for the cause.
Luckily it’s coming back. “About the end of December, first of the New Year, I’ll have a good mustache,” he said.
About the Author
