Growing Awareness: Movember Ignites a Mustache Revolution for Men’s Health

Supported by the Movember Foundation, millions of men worldwide grew mustaches for a cause this “No Shave November,” continuing to spark conversations about men’s health issues.

The Movember Foundation continues to use mustache-growing campaigns to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues. | Image Credit: Movember Foundation - https://us.movember.com/

Origin

The movement began in 2003 when Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, 2 friends from Melbourne, Australia, joked about reviving the mustache, a fashion staple in past decades.¹ Inspired by a friend’s mother fundraising for breast cancer, they decided to turn their mustache idea into a campaign for men’s health.

The duo recruited participants via email after creating the rules and setting a $10 entry fee. Thirty men they dubbed “Mo Bros” joined the challenge. Motivated by their enthusiasm and the mustache’s ability to spark conversations, the friends formalized the concept in 2004 to support prostate cancer. That year, 450 participants raised AUD 54,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

The campaign rapidly expanded and officially became the Movember Foundation in 2006. Over the years, it partnered with new organizations to address testicular cancer and men’s mental health, in addition to prostate cancer.

Annually, Movember raises funds to deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programs that enable men to live healthier, longer lives. Today, it operates in 21 countries, has raised over AUD 730 million, funded more than 1000 programs, and has fundamentally shifted conversations around men’s health.

Prostate Cancer

From 2007 to 2014, the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer increased sharply each year due to a decrease in screening, which resulted from changes in screening recommendations.² However, since 2014, the incidence rate increased by 3% per year overall and by about 5% per year for advanced-stage prostate cancer.

The American Cancer Society estimated that there would be about 299,010 new prostate cancer cases among American men this year and about 35,250 related deaths. About 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, but the risk can vary based on factors like a man’s age and race or ethnicity.

Prostate cancer is more likely to develop in older men, with about 6 in 10 prostate cancers being diagnosed in those 65 or older; it is rare in men under 40. Therefore, the average age at diagnosis is about 67. Additionally, prostate cancer risk is higher in African American men and Caribbean men of African ancestry.

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men; about 1 in 44 men will die of prostate cancer. However, most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it, with more than 3.3 million American men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer still alive today.

From 1993 to 2013, the death rate declined by about half, most likely due to earlier detection and treatment advances. The death rate has also stabilized in recent years, likely reflecting the rise in cancers being diagnosed at an advanced stage.

For the best chance at early detection, the American Cancer Society recommended that prostate cancer discussions take place at age 50 for men who are at average risk, age 45 for men at high risk, and age 40 for men at even higher risk.³ Those at high risk include African American men and those who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age. Men at higher risk are those with more than one first-degree relative who had prostate cancer at an early age.

The Movember Foundation is using innovation and collaboration to fight against prostate cancer.⁴ Their tactics include encouraging early detection, advocating for more affordable treatment, and tailoring treatments to each patient.

Testicular Cancer

Testicular cancer is not common, with about 1 of every 250 males developing it during their lifetime.⁵ However, the incidence rate has been increasing for several decades; experts have not yet found reasons for this.

Therefore, the American Cancer Society predicted about 9760 new testicular cancer cases among American men in 2024 and about 500 dying from it. It is largely a disease of young and middle-aged men, the average age being 33 at diagnosis. However, about 6% of cases occur in children and teens, and about 8% occur in men older than 55 years. Usually, testicular cancer can be treated successfully, so there is a 1 in 5000 chance of men dying from it.

Currently, there is no standard or routine screening test used for early detection.⁶ Instead, testicular cancer is most often found by the patients themselves, either by chance or during self-examination. Sometimes, it is found by a doctor during a routine physical examination.

Routine screening would most likely not decrease the risk of dying from testicular cancer since it can usually be cured at any stage. However, finding testicular cancer early may make it easier to treat. Those diagnosed with testicular cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body may need less surgery and chemotherapy, resulting in fewer side effects.

With the same tactics used to fight against prostate cancer, the Movember Foundation is encouraging early detection, advocating for more affordable treatment, and tailoring treatments to each patient.⁷

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

Although mental illnesses are more prevalent in women, men suffering from mental illnesses are less likely to receive a diagnosis or treatment.⁸ This can partly be attributed to the stigma of men speaking out about mental illness being considered weak; other factors include culture, race, and socioeconomic status. Consequently, nearly 1 in 10 men experience depression or anxiety but less than half will receive treatment.

Also, women attempt suicide more often than men do, but more than 4 times as many men die by suicide every year. This is because men use methods that are more likely to cause death, like guns. They also may show fewer warning signs and act more impulsively on suicidal thoughts.

Although men and women can develop most of the same mental disorders and conditions, they may experience different symptoms and develop contrasting coping mechanisms. Symptoms of mental health disorders in men include escapist behavior (spending more time at work or on sports), physical symptoms (headaches, digestive problems, pain), or the misuse of alcohol and/or drugs.

In addition to funding projects, the Movember Foundation plans to win the fight against men’s mental health through education, meaningful conversations, and designing services with men’s needs in mind.⁹ Other tactics include ensuring mental health support for men within their communities and demanding action at the government level.

How to Participate

Each year, participating Mo Bros must begin with a clean-shaven face on November 1.¹⁰ Throughout the month, they must grow and groom a mustache without faking it or growing a beard instead. The goal is for the Mo Bros to use their mustaches to spark conversations and raise funds for men’s health, all while conducting themselves like “true gentlemen.”

Men who prefer not to grow a mustache and women can demonstrate their support in other ways, like encouraging those growing mustaches and donating to the Movember Foundation.¹¹

“With the help of our community, Movember will continue funding research and investing in programs to prevent our fathers, brothers, partners, sons and friends, from dying prematurely,” Movember’s US Country Director Mark Hedstrom said in a press release.¹²

References

1. Mo News: A hairy tale – the history of Movember’s early years. Movember. December 30, 2015. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://us.movember.com/story/view/id/11213/
2. Key statistics for prostate cancer. American Cancer Society. Last revised January 19, 2024. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
3. American Cancer Society recommendations for prostate cancer early detection. American Cancer Society. Last revised November 22, 2023. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/acs-recommendations.html
4. Prostate cancer. Movember. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://us.movember.com/about/prostate-cancer
5. Key statistics for testicular cancer. American Cancer Society. Last revised January 17, 2024. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/testicular-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
6. Testicular Cancer Screening (PDQ^®)–Patient Version. National Cancer Institute. June 12, 2019. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.cancer.gov/types/testicular/patient/testicular-screening-pdq
7. Testicular health. Movember. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://us.movember.com/about/testicular-cancer
8. Men’s mental health. Anxiety & Depression Association of America. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://adaa.org/find-help/by-demographics/mens-mental-health
9. Mental health. Movember. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://us.movember.com/about/mental-health
10. Grow a mo. Movember. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://us.movember.com/support-us/grow
11. FAQs. Movember. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://us.movember.com/faq
12. Movember kicks off their 2020 campaign: the most important Mo you will ever grow. News release. Movember; October 30, 2020. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://cdn.movember.com/uploads/files/Media%20Room/USA/US%20MOVEMBER%20CAMPAIGN%20RELEASE%202020%20.pdf