KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Don’t be surprised if you start seeing a lot more men sporting some killer mustaches this month. They’re doing it for a good reason.
Men are calling it Movember. It’s an effort that started in Australia and recently caught on in the US. Growing a mustache to bring awareness to men’s health issues like prostate and testicular cancer.
The mustache is like a ribbon people wear for causes, but the idea is the bigger and uglier, the better.
The rockstar, the colonel, the trucker and the handlebar. We aren’t talking about professions, rather facial hair.
“It strikes that conversation like why do you have a mustach. You’re pretty young and it really doesn’t look that good on you,” said Austin Rorh, who is part of the Chop Tops team – a local salon who’s created a team to raise money for Movember.
Rohr got involved after being diagnosed with cancer at age 26.
“I was invincible and cancer was something that happened to your friends grandparents. You don’t think its going to hit somebody younger and really its a terrible disease and it doesn’t discriminate,” said Rohr.
It’s by sporting this fine facial hair that Rohr and others are raising the topic of men’s health and asking people to donate to the cause.
“Males tend to try to avoid going to the doctor or getting screened for those things,” said Dr. David Duchene, a urologist at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. Duchene says prostate cancer occurs in one out of every six males and is the second leading cause of cancer death for men in the US.
“I think it does raise a lot of awareness because most of us don’t look great in mustaches,” said Duchene.
Duchene says the more rare testicular cancer is actually the most common cancer in American men between the ages of 15-35. He adds that regular self exams and checkups are key.
“Its never to young to start,” said Duchene.
If you’d like to participate, there are plenty of local teams you can join or you can be considered a Mo Bro or Mo Sista and donate to those who are sporting the look. For more information visit www.movember.com
To donate to the Chop Tops team or team member Austin Rohr click here.
