Movember Battles Cancer with Mustaches

CANBERRA, Nov. 3 (SEE)- Movember inspires men to grow mustaches every November to save shaving expenses for cancer patients.

The event is organized to raise awareness and funds for critical issues affecting men's health around the world, particularly prostate cancer, and suicide.

[caption id="attachment_21272" align="aligncenter" width="315"] CEO of Movember Foundation, Adam Garone[/caption]

The campaign aims to support the early detection of men's cancer, encourage a healthy standard of living, improve mental health, and reduce global mortality amongst men.

The term "Movember" was first used in 1999 when a group of young Australian men wore mustaches for charitable purposes.

Movember is a combination of the word November and Moustache in Australian English

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In 2004, a group of men from Melbourne grew mustaches to promote awareness of men's health, eventually to form the Rotterdam Foundation.

In 2007, the event instantly spread from Australia to the whole world, to be currently celebrated by millions of men.

According to CEO and co-founder of the Movember Foundation, Adam Garone, one man commits suicide every minute. "We have to take a stand to prevent men from dying at a young age. Men die on average six years earlier than women for preventable reasons. When it comes to their health, not many men speak. Men need to be open to discuss their health issues and take action if something does not seem right," he said.

Since 2014, the Foundation has been able to raise over $ 580 million from the charity. Movember funded around 800 programs, focusing on men’s health awareness and lifestyle. It is operating in 21 countries with a workforce of 130 employees.