Movember, Men’s Health Month, begins today. On the program: play sports and grow a mustache to raise awareness of male pathologies.
After Pink October, it’s time for the month of the mustache! Movember, the month of actions dedicated to men’s health begins this Sunday. Since 2003, this offbeat campaign has aimed to raise money for research on male pathologies, such as prostate or testicular cancer. It is also interested in mental health and physical inactivity, other scourges for men, and is held every November.
The most iconic action is for men to grow a mustache until December, and even trim it in a whimsical way. Then, the idea is to register on the Movember foundation website, to educate those close to them thanks to their new hairiness, and to raise funds in favor of men’s health.
Women are also welcome, and this year, a project called MOVE particularly encourages them to participate. The challenge: practice a physical activity, even light, every day.
An exceptional record
In France, Movember was launched for the first time in 2012 and has generated significant mobilization. According to Marc Leruste, head of Movember France, interviewed by Why Doctor, donations went from 140,000 euros then, to 520,000 euros last year. More than 27,000 people registered on the site to take part in the various events in 2014. A record that he describes as exceptional.
Marc Leruste hopes for even more participation this year, especially from women thanks to the MOVE challenge, and detailed information on the Movember site. “A lot of people don’t realize that growing a mustache is good, because it starts a conversation. But to have the impact we are trying to have, you have to register on the site, to make people aware of the necessary health information, ”he emphasizes.
Better understand pathologies
Thanks to the funds collected, many projects can be financed in France, in particular to better understand the diseases that affect men.
For example, in the case of prostate cancer, one of the problems is that we do not yet clearly distinguish the different forms of cancer. Funding projects to better differentiate between forms of prostate cancer makes it possible to avoid overtreating, and to take care of patients with individual approaches. Another line of research is to develop 3D visualization systems for the prostate, less invasive than those currently available.
French doctors benefit from funding from the campaign. At Lille University Hospital, the work of Prof. Arnaud Villers on active surveillance of prostate cancer is, for example, supported by the Movember foundation. It’s about finding ways to monitor and treat cancer without operating.
Prof. Karim Fizazi, from theGustave Roussy hospital also is concerned. The program he has set up aims to better understand testicular cancer, “often a little forgotten by researchers”, according to Marc Leruste. This cancer kills less than that of the prostate, but affects 2,000 men each year in France. 10% of them die from the disease.
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