Movember: Raising Awareness on Men's Health Issues

All About Movember

Movember is an annual event that involves the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness on men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. The idea of Movember was created in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia. In the first Movember challenge, a group of 30 friends challenged each other to grow their moustaches for a month. The founders decided to relate this challenge to an overlooked issue - men's health. The Movember Foundation was then created.

How Can I Participate in Movember?

To participate in Movember, grow out your facial hair everyday for the month of November, talk about men's health as much as you can, and raise money for the non-profit organization.

How to Raise Money

Here are some ideas on how to raise money for Movember:

• Ask your friends and family to donate a dollar every day you grow your moustache

• Take bids on what color to dye your moustache

• Donate the money you would have spent on shaving products for that month

Here is the website where you can donate money for Movember: https://ca.movember.com/

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

On average, one man dies from suicide every minute. In Canada, 3 out of 4 suicides are by men. Movember acknowledges mental health for men and focuses on prevention and early intervention.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call the Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1-833-456-4566. If you're ever worried that someone's life is in danger, immediately call 911 or go directly to emergency services.

Prostate Cancer

1 in 9 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men. More than 1.3 million men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. In Canada, there are 170,000 men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer.

What is Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is the cancer of the prostate gland, which is part of the male reproductive system.

Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

Symptoms of prostate cancer include:

• Trouble urinating

• Frequent urination

• Decreased force of urination

• Difficulty starting or stopping urine stream

• Blood in semen

• Pain or discomfort

• Bone pain

Causes of Prostate Cancer

The risk factors of prostate cancer are:

• Increasing age

• Family history of prostate cancer

• Obesity

Prevention

The risk of prostate cancer can be reduced by:

• Eating a healthy diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables

• Cutting down fatty foods

• Exercising regularly

• Maintaining a healthy weight

• Avoiding smoking and alcohol

Testicular Cancer

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young Canadian men.

What is Testicular Cancer?

Testicular cancer is a cancer that develops in the testicles, a male organ that produces sex hormones and sperm.

Symptoms of Testicular Cancer

Symptoms of testicular cancer include:

• Lumps in the testes

• Sudden shrinking of a testicle

• Swelling

• Shortness of breath and chest pain

• Lump in the neck

Causes of Testicular Cancer

Possible causes of testicular cancer are:

• Family history of testicular cancer

• Congenial abnormality of the testes

Prevention

There is no significant method of prevention for testicular cancer.

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To conclude, I hope that you have learned something from this blog post and that you are motivated to participate in Movember!