November Brings Annual Movember Charity Event: Prostate Cancer Awareness

It’s that time of year-Movember! Movember is an international charity event to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is second only to skin cancer as the most common form of cancer in men in the USA. Their latest estimates (2010) are that “about 217,730 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and about 32,050 men will die of prostate cancer.”

To participate in Movember, males start with no mustache (if they have one, it must be shaved off before they can begin the challenge) and through the month they grow a mustache. Many causes have ribbons, but for Movember, the ribbon is the mustache grown by each participant, and what a beautiful ribbon it is!

Funds are raised by individuals, teams and for the cause in general. In 2009, more than $42 million (US dollar equivalent) was raised by participants world wide. Monies raised go to support two beneficiaries: the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Livestrong.

Official events and parties are posted on the official Movember website so participants can interact and help spread the word to the public. Prizes are awarded, primarily based on funds raised. However, one prize is awarded to the individual who creates the best Mo Space page.

For information about the USA Movember event, click here. International participants, please click here to select your region. Be sure to check out the News section for the rules and fun stuff such as an iPhone app to track your progress.

Participating in Movember? Share your story, Mo Page link and photo journal of your progress here. Good luck to all who participate.

The Greek Goddess of Men’s Facial Hair is a proud supporter of Movember.

Image Credit: Movember Foundation. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Movember_Foundation_Logo.JPG

U.K. Beards for Charity

Image by Genista via FlickrGreat news coming out of the U.K.

Big C in Norfolk is behind a charity drive to raise money for people with cancer. The facial hair growing event begins in February. For details, check out "Grow a Beard for Charity".

Welcome to Movember! Grow a Mustache and Support Prostate Cancer Awareness

Image via WikipediaLast year was the first time I had ever heard of 'Movember'. I posted about it here (click on that link to watch a funny Movember video), and am proud to support the cause.

Movember is all about growing a mustache to show your support of Prostate Cancer awareness and research to find a cure. One commenter on another site asked what ribbon men get for Movember, since women get a pink ribbon for the Breast Cancer cause. Another commenter replied the mustache was their ribbon.

I am not going to grow my mustache for the cause (sorry guys), but I will support the cause in other ways.

This blog post from Nico at AlfajOr.com gives some interesting information about Movember - and is the source of the 'ribbon' comment.

Want to know more about Movember and how to participate? Go to the official Movember site and select your country to register. Through the site you can find groups and events in your area, learn about contests, and donate to the cause.