Movember enters 15th year raising funds, awareness for men’s health

In 2005, one of Mike Milloy's friends had been visiting Australia and told him about a “cool thing” Aussies were doing each year to raise awareness around men's health issues.

It had been two years since the idea of Movember was created in Melbourne between two friends — Travis Garone and Luke Slattery — over a beer.

They wanted to create an annual event centreing around men's health, particularly prostate cancer.

Australia was the only participating country back then, even though thousands of Aussies had participated and more than $1 million had been raised over those two years.

Milloy told his friend he wanted to try doing the same thing the following year. When that time in 2007 came around, he had moved to Canada.

“It was very small back then … the campaign,” Milloy, Movember Halifax committee member, says. “I just got attached to it, and then it was smooth sailing from then on.”

It was the year Movember started taking off in other parts of the world.

In Europe, it partnered with organizations in the United Kingdom and Spain. In North America, it partnered with the United States' Prostate Cancer Foundation as well as Prostate Cancer Canada.

Now, Movember is a global campaign that helps raise funds and awareness for a range of men's health issues including prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.

“It's the largest global charity that's focused on men's health,” Milloy tells CityNews Halifax.

“The word is definitely out more than ever before, so participation numbers are an interesting thing to look at.”

Since the campaign began in Australia in 2003, more than 6.5 million people have participated in Movember worldwide. On top of that, more than 1,250 men’s health projects have been funded since it started.

In the first three years of the campaign, it was celebrated solely in Australia and New Zealand. Today, around 20 countries have started participating including South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore and Czech Republic.

While participation numbers are high, Milloy says the most important impact is seen in the programs and awareness that are created due to Movember.

“Canada has always been really, really good at supporting it,” he says,” and especially Nova Scotia.”

He says one of the most important takeaways from Movember is that people should start demystifying the issues around men's health.

“If you're talking about cancer,” he says, “then understanding at what age you need to start thinking about monitoring your own health and that kind of thing.”

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men and is the third leading cause of death from cancer in men in Canada.

For prostate cancer, the Canadian Cancer Society says there are several factors that can increase the risk for someone to develop the cancer. Generally, the risk in developing prostate cancer increases as a person gets older, particularly after the age of 50 and especially after the age of 60.

Prostate cancer is also more likely in people who have a first-degree relative — such as a parent, sibling or child — who was diagnosed with the cancer, especially if that relative was diagnosed before the age of 65.

People who are Black, overweight and/or taller than average also have a higher chance of developing prostate cancer.

The Canadian Cancer Society also says the number of new testicular cancer cases diagnosed each year has steadily risen over the last several decades.

It's the most common cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 29; the number of people diagnosed with testicular cancer significantly increases after the age of 14, peaks around age 30 and then declines by age 60.

Testicular cancer is more common among Caucasian people, those who are taller than average and people with a higher socio-economic status.

“But when you talk about men's mental health and the awareness around suicide prevention,” Milloy says, “that's everybody.”

Anyone can participate in Movember and sign up at the charity's website.

While it's common for people to participate by growing a moustache, people can also participate in other ways such as committing to exercising every day for the month, hosting an event or “mowing” your own way.