www.womanthismonth.com 33 November 2012 | Campaign Who is the Hairiest of Them All? It’s no secret that the majority of women cannot stand facial fuzz. However, this month we will grin and bear it in support of a crucial fundraising endeavour. For the last eight years, the month of November has been dedicated to raising awareness and vital funds for prostate cancer. Men worldwide have shown their support by taking part in ‘Movember’; a moustachegrowing campaign. The participants start the month cleanshaven and don’t shave again for the remainder of November. Supported by the women in their lives, each moustache-clad man is encouraged to seek sponsorship from his hairy growth through the campaign’s official online organisation. Friends, family, colleagues and anyone are asked to donate as much as possible towards the Movember participant, in aid of their challenge. The campaign is helping to change the face of men’s health by effectively becoming walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Prostate cancer is not as widely discussed as other forms of cancer and leading to many men falling ill. Not every prostate cancer sufferer experiences symptoms, which primarily include abnormalities during urination or sexual function, and Movember enables more doctors to provide men with check-ups. Here in Bahrain we hope to see lots of suave men sporting moustaches this month, recognising this as a signal of support. The vision Movember moustaches were first grown in Australia in 2003 and since then the charitable scheme has spread worldwide. Today, the Movember Campaign runs official operations across Europe, South Africa, America and Australia; however men from all over the globe are taking part through the campaign’s website. The vision is to have an everlasting impact on the state of men’s health. To this end Movember has established the Global Action Plan (GAP), which aims to accelerate prostate cancer outcomes through global research collaboration. Funds raised will be allocated to research that supports the GAP. The programme currently includes two sections: the Annual Global Collaborative Research Project and Promoveo. The best researchers around the world are gathered to work together on key challenges that will speed up breakthroughs and ultimately benefit men with prostate cancer. Promoveo is a global, online community for prostate cancer researchers, clinicians and organisations. Similar to LinkedIn, but tailored specifically for the prostate cancer research community, Promoveo members can share ideas, find out what key research resources are available in other countries, post information to foster discussion, and connect with other researchers from across the globe to derive outcomes. Visit www.movember.com. By Alison Coldridge
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==