Hair-Raising, Fund-Raising For Men's Health

If you were following me last year you know that next month is known as "Movember." During which some of us guys grow out our moustaches in order to raise awareness and some money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation as well as the Livestrong Foundation. This is a cause that is close to my heart as both of my grandfathers have had prostate cancer, one passed away from cancer (including testicular), and a close friend of mine has had his own battle with testicular cancer. If you can please visit my page (http://mobro.co/FitnessMatt), you can donate, join my team, and/or recruit people you know to grow a mo' or join in supporting a bro.

Here's some scary statistics that point to the need for such a cause:

The average life expectancy for men is five years less than women (presently 77 years old compared to 82).

1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 3 women will be.

Evidence suggests that about a third of the 571,950 cancer deaths expected to occur will be related to obesity, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and thus could be prevented.

1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

240,890 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed and 33,720 men will die.

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in American males between the ages of 15 and 34.

8,290 men will be diagnosed with the disease and 350 will die.

Smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths and 87% of lung cancer deaths

An estimated 115,060 men will be diagnosed with lung cancer and 85,600 men will die from the disease.

While not as common, men can get breast cancer. About 2,140 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among men and about 450 men will die from the disease

The most common cancer in the US, skin cancer strikes 1 in 5 Americans.

An estimated 43,890 men will be diagnosed with skin cancer and 8,080 men will die from the disease.

An estimated 13 million adult men over the age of 20 in the US have diabetes- and a third do not know it.

Approximately 50 million men and women in the US have high blood pressure- almost 30 per cent of them do not know it.

About 1 in 3 adults has high blood pressure, and blood pressure tends to rise with age.

1 in 8 men who suffer from mental illness actually seek help (inspire.org)

Four times as many men commit suicide compared with women

24% of men are less likely to go to the doctor compared to women

Let’s face it, men are known to be more indifferent towards their health, especially when compared to the efforts of women, who proactively and publicly address their health issues in a way not traditionally seen with men. As a result, today the levels of awareness, understanding and funding for support of male health issues, like prostate cancer, lag significantly behind causes such as breast cancer.