This November, men across the country will spend the month growing mustaches to raise awareness and increase understanding about men’s health issues. This nationwide initiative, known as “Movember,” specifically targets prostate and testicular cancer awareness initiatives with the goal of increasing early detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
With its own “Men of Movember” initiative, Elk Regional is helping to start the conversation about men’s health issues. A group of male employees from throughout the Health System is spending the month growing mustaches to help educate their coworkers and the Health System’s patients, residents, and visitors.
“Men are traditionally less open than women about health issues and they don’t address health issues as proactively as women do,” said Adam Correll, an employee of the Health System’s Information Technology Department and one of the men spearheading Elk Regional’s Men of Movember initiative. “As a result, there isn’t as high a level of awareness and understanding about men’s health issues, and that can drastically reduce a man’s chances of early detection. We want to bring about change and encourage men to talk about their health more openly. The ‘Movember’ initiative and the mustaches allowed us to put a fun twist on a pretty serious issue.”
Nearly half of all American men will be diagnosed with some form of cancer. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer afflicting American men between the ages of 15 and 45. One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer; by the end of this year, new cases of prostate cancer are expected to total more than 242,000 nationwide. One in every 13 men will develop lung cancer. By the end of the year, more than 2,000 new cases of male breast cancer could be diagnosed nationwide.
At 77 years, the average life expectancy for men is five years fewer than that of women.
“Little by little, things are starting to change,” Mr. Correll said. “The barriers surrounding men’s health are slowly being broken down. But we have a long way to go. This is a fight that men and women alike need to be part of. Working together is the only way that real, lasting change is going to happen.”
For more information about the “Movember” initiative, click here!
