A month focused on men’s health and mustaches, what’s not to love? It’s Movember!
Movember started in 2003 in Australia when a couple of mates sat in a pub moaning over the loss of the mustache as a “Fashion Do.” At the time, mustaches (or Mo’s in Aussie speak”) were a “Fashion Don’t” with few men sporting hair on their upper lip.
“Hey, how’ bout this?” someone said, “let’s spend a month growing a mo.” Recruiting some other mates, they decided to raise money for men’s health. From there, they built a website and in 2004 raised funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. The idea took off.
By 2012, 581 men’s health programs had been funded and men in 22 countries were participating. Since 2016, the Movember Business Club, has been ringing the bell at Nasdaq on the first of November. The “Mo” has taken on a life of its own.
All of this is done in hopes of putting a face on men’s health, with special emphasis on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention.
Women Can Support Movember too!
Mo Sisters are women who love Mo’s and support men’s health. Of course, women are impacted by their brothers’, sons’, fathers’, and husbands’ or partners’ health.
Movember fundraising brings awareness and research dollars to prostate and testicular cancers–and of course, both of these cancers impact couples.
According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, “Prostate cancer and its treatments can have a significant negative impact on sexual quality of life, not only for patients but also for an estimated >1 million partners in the U.S. alone.” For example, a study of patients and their partners compared satisfaction with treatment, worry about prostate cancer, and the consequences of treatment in their relationship. Twenty-five percent said that their personal activities were negatively impacted by prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment and 42 percent reported their relationships with their partners, especially their sexual relationships, were negatively affected. [1 ]
Another study published in March 2017, measured quality of life using the Prostate Cancer Symptom Indices. Over one thousand men, diagnosed between January 2011 and June 2013, participated in the study. Their treatment decisions varied; 27% chose active surveillance, 41% radical prostatectomy, 22% external beam radiotherapy, and 10% brachytherapy. Participants answered the survey before treatment, then 3, 6, and 24 months after their treatment. Survey results compared those who chose active surveillance to those who chose treatment.
At the two-year mark, 57% of the men who had reported normal sexual function before treatment, reported poor function after having surgery, as did 25% choosing active surveillance. For those who had the different radiotherapies, 27% of those treated with external beam and 34% with brachytherapy experienced poor function. [2] A significant number of men, and their intimate partners, experienced an enormous change in their lives.
In the same way, even though it is a rarer cancer, testicular cancer can negatively impact men and their partners. According to the American Cancer Society, 9,760 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed each year. The average age that men are diagnosed is 33 years old.
Measuring the sense of masculinity, one recent review article reported that between 12% and 30% of men had a reduced sense of masculinity due to their diagnosis and treatment. The negative impact was greater for single men without children. [3] Another article, reviewing 16 studies, found that physical, emotional and sexual difficulties were experienced by men who had had testicular cancer, as well as misunderstandings around fertility. Those who had chemotherapy experienced greater issues with sexual dysfunction. Factors helping men cope with their diagnosis and treatment included having children, a partner, and employment.[4]
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Having the knowledge and attitudes to recognize mental disorders is a definition of mental health literacy. Being mental health literate can save a life! But there are beliefs that can distort and hinder its recognition, including internalized negative attitudes toward yourself and toward mental illness or toward others with mental illness.
Help-seeking and help-offering are influenced by these attitudes. Yet the problem is tremendous. According to the CDC,“The suicide rate among males in 2022 was approximately four times higher than the rate among females. Males make up 50% of the population but nearly 80% of suicides.” Because of these high rates, one of Movember’s initiatives is to teach men to offer help to others men who may be suffering.
There’s still time…
Men, you can be a part of the MO–vement! Share “Men’s Health Matters” and “Masculinity and self-care: Prioritizing healthy behaviors…”
And then…
On your mark, get set, grow that facial hair…but only on the upper lip! Let’s see those Mo’s.
References:
[1] Ramsey, S. D., Zeliadt, S. B., Blough, D. K., Moinpour, C. M., Hall, I. J., Smith, J. L., Penson, D. F. (2013). Impact of prostate cancer on sexual relationships: a longitudinal perspective on intimate partners’ experiences. The journal of sexual medicine, 10(12), 3135–3143. doi:10.1111/jsm.12295
[2] Wennick A.,KristinJonsson., Bratt O .,Stenzelius K.(2017). Everyday life after a radical prostatectomy – A qualitative study of men under 65 years of age. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 30: 107-112. doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2017.08.008.
[3] Dax, V. Ftanou, M. Tran, B. et.al. (2022). The impact of testicular cancer and its treatment on masculinity: A systematic review. Psycho Oncology. 31(9). 1459-1473. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5994
[4] Alexis, O., Adeleye, A.O. & Worsley, A.J. (2020). Men’s experiences of surviving testicular cancer: an integrated literature review. J Cancer Surviv 14, 284–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-019-00841-2
