By Abby Walton
Soon you’ll start seeing them at work and around town. Normally clean-shaven men sporting mustaches and beards. The facial hair isn’t left over from their Duck Dynasty Halloween costumes, or a sign of support for the bearded Boston Red Sox. Rather these guys are trying to change the face of men’s health by participating in “Movember.”
The Movember movement started in Australia in 2003 as a way to bring awareness to men’s health issues. The month earned its name from the Australian slang for mustache, mo. While there are chapters world-wide, one of the fast growing chapters in America is in Indiana. Thanks in part to local committee members like George Milberger, the Movember Indy chapter has helped raise thousands of dollars for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Livestrong.
Milberger, a Zionsville resident, began participating in Movember in 2010.
“I signed up on movember.com and sent an email to my work, letting them know I’d be sporting some questionable facial hair for the month. Then, I told them why and actually received a lot of support,” he said.
Men who sign up at www.movember.com start out clean-shaven on Nov. 1. For the rest of the month, these men, known as “Mo Bros,” try to grow as much facial hair as possible.
Women can get in on the fun as well. Known as “Mo Sistas,” the ladies can help their men raise funds to sponsor their mo-growing efforts. At the end of the month, teams from around the world celebrate their efforts with special events.
While Movember is about having fun, it is also meant as a way to talk about how men can protect themselves against prostate and testicular cancers.
“Sometimes it’s hard for men to talk to other men about their health, but if I’m talking to you and I have this poor excuse of a mustache on my face, it helps bring some levity to the seriousness of the situation,” Milberger said. With one in six men diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, awareness of the signs and prevention are paramount. If you’d like to participate in Movember, the Indianapolis chapter has several events planned for the month. For more information visit www.movemberindy.com.
