There’s been a lot of talk about Movember in the Twitter town of Vancouver. You may have noticed hoards of men walking around with decorated upper lips. Whether it’s scruffy, blonde, black, bushy or sparse, the mo’ is very hot right now!
The History of Movember
I didn’t know the full history behind Movember, until I read @miss604 ’s very detailed blog post. I highly recommend that you give it a read. Good stuff! I’ll give you the cliff notes version.
In 2003, two Australian men thought it would be fun to grow and keep mo’s for a month. Despite getting flack from their wives and bosses, they loved the idea and wanted to make it a tradition. It turns out, two of the guy’s dads had prostate cancer at the time. After doing some digging, they noticed a gap in research and awareness. The next year they recruited 450 bros to grow mo’s and raise money for prostate cancer – Movember was born!
Have you checked your prostate lately? Will you?
19,000 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. With proper screening, prostate cancer can be treated before it’s too late. While I’m a big fan of the mustache myself, Movember isn’t just about facial hair. It’s about shining light on a form of cancer that hasn’t received much attention in the past. Movember men, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you gotten your prostate checked lately? If not, will you? Ladies, will you encourage the Movember men in your life to get checked? Please answer this question by posting a comment below. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
Just For Fun
To commemorate Movember, I worked with Derek Strokon (@insurevancouver) , Greg Meeres and Kevin Friesen (@boldfishmedia) , and Alejandra Anderson (@beyondyouandme) to put together a video. Take a look for a good laugh. But it’s not all fun and games. Don’t die of embarrassment, Movember men. Get your prostate checked! Especially those of you who are over 40 (I’m not naming names).
Vote for Us?
We love a good old fashioned competition, so we entered our video into the @memelabs Movember video contest. If you like it, click on “vote” in the bottom right hand corner of the video. Until next time, happy Movember!
I had no idea about the history before I read this. Thanks so much for the smart summary.
Your video cracked me up! Voted!
“Holy Movember! That’s a nice prostate.” That was fun-ducational; nice job!
Thanks for the comments Stacie and Carol! Thanks for voting, too.
Question for you ladies… have the Movember men in your life checked their prostates lately?!
That was fun! Well done.
However, I’m fairly concerned about the actor with the prostate that people can see though. This is not normal. He either has a horrendous birth defect or something is very wrong. If his doctor said it was “OK” perhaps he should get a second opinion, it sounds like his physician is drinking between patients.
My father is a veterinarian. I’m sure I could get him a deal…
Too funny Mike. Thanks for the comment.
Hey Mike, Always thought my birth defect would be useless and was always a pain, but turns out that it was helpful for this video shoot.
A little creative licence was taken for sure, but if a fun-ducational (thanks for the term Stacie) video can help save some lives, then I’m all for it.
I’ll be sure to call your dad for my next medical procedure… lol
Happy Movember!
that video is awesome, i tried to vote but it still says six if i did it wrong please DM me. your write up on Movember is great.
Thanks for enlightening us on the Movember history Tanya and for making us all aware of the importance of an uncomfortable subject in a memorable way. Not sure what would be more uncomfortable though… going for the check up or having a invasive guy like that conversing beside you at the pee stand.
Thanks for the comments everyone!! We had lots of fun creating this video. Gusgreeper, to vote, you need to register at http://memelabs.com/movember/ and then click “vote” in the bottom right corner of the video. Thanks for your support!
Prostate Cancer is a big issue for men, especially if they’re over 45 to 50. The main reason so many men don’t feel comfortable with dealing with their personal health is their perception that a prostate exam is embarrassing, painful, or somehow demeans their masculinity. Look, guys, it’s just one of those things you’ve got to do. Your GP has got a lot of training on how to do this painlessly, and it’s over in less than a minute.
Man-up and talk about it with your Doc, if you’re embarrassed! Or make a joke out of it, like Chevy Chase in “Fletch”. How stupid will you feel if you end up going in for some other problem, and discover that avoiding a routine exam could have saved your life, and spared all your loved ones untold grief. Like the guy in those old Fram Oil filter ads used to say, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later!”
If you want to know more about prostate cancer, check out http://www.oncolink.org/index.cfm, the world’s first and leading on-line resource for information about cancer. Forewarned is forearmed.
Bruce