Why do you Mo’?
That is a question you are likely to get asked this Movember (the month formerly known as November). It may come in different formats like:
- What’s with the moustache?
- Why did you shave?
- Why didn’t you finish shaving?
- Dear god what is that crawling across your upper lip?
How ever you get asked it is always a good idea to be prepared with answers. In the U.S. Men live on average 5 years shorter than women and there is nothing in our biology that causes this. Overall there is a lack of awareness and understanding surrounding men’s health issues and there are elements in then male psychology that may contribute to this. For instance men are less likely talk openly about there mental and physical health while being more likely to engage in risky activities. Because of the stigmas surrounding physical and mental health, men are likely to “be a man” about things or tough out their illnesses and injuries. Here are the numbers from the Movember website:
- 1 in 2 men, and 1 in 3 women, will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
- 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime, thus visiting a nearby urology center is crucial.
- Over 238,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed and almost 30,000 men will die of prostate cancer in 2013.
- Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in males between the ages of 15 and 35. It is advisable to visit a urologist before the age of 15 to undergo screening.
- 7,920 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer and 370 will die in 2013.
- 6 million people die every year from tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke. One person dies every six seconds.
- 1 in every 13 men will be diagnosed with lung cancer in his lifetime.
- While not as common, men can get breast cancer. About 2,240 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed among men and about 410 men will die from the disease in 2013.
- More than 3.5 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year.
- An estimated 13 million men, or 11.8% of all men over the age of 20, have diabetes.
- Approximately 76.4 million men and women have high blood pressure.
- Men who sit more than six hours a day have an 18 percent increased risk of dying from heart disease and a 7.8 percent increased chance of dying from diabetes compared with someone who sits for three hours or less a day.
- Globally, 5.3 million deaths will be attributed to physical inactivity.
- Over 6 million men are diagnosed with depression each year.
- Almost four times as many males as females die by suicide.
- 24% of men are less likely to go to the doctor compared to women.
Committing to grow a moustache and asking people to donate money to raise awareness for men’s health is about more than just a list of facts. It is about the connections we have to each other as fathers, sons, brothers, and friends. So first of all we want you to join the Movember team we have formed with Dad 2.0 Summit and the NYC Dads Group. Next we want you to share your stories. Share your motivations with brothers in Mo’. E-Mail them to us at movember@lifeofdad.com and we’ll feature them here to encourage each other as we strive to “Change the Face of Men’s Health”!