Spreading Cancer Awareness with a Swag: Movember & No-Shave November

November is an important month not just in India but across the world. This is the time of the year when Men from different parts of the world let grow their facial hair grow and do not shave them for the entire month.

This is done in two different concepts: No-Shave November and Movember.

No-Shave November is a month-long journey during which participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness. Whereas, Movember involves the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s suicide.

While a lot of men indulge in these activities just to support the cause, there are many who raise the funds for the whole month and donate the same to the charity and needy.

Meet these two gentlemen from Mumbai, one who supports this cause with No-Shave November for past two years and then we have someone from Mumbai who is in his fifth year supports the cause of Movember.

Amal Vartak, 38, Mumbai

On Supporting the Movember Initiative

I support Movember, the global charity campaign towards male health and to prevent men from dying too young. This includes creating awareness and raising funds for health issues faced by men such as Prostate Cancer, Testicular cancer and poor mental health leading to depression and suicides. This is my 5th year supporting Movember, sporting the hairy upper lip all month.

On what made him decide to take part in this initiative

Back in 2012, my colleague from the Canadian organization I was working with, introduced the concept of Movember to me. My first question was, what is the need of a moustache to create awareness or raise funds?

The Moustache is our Ribbon! The "Mo" as we MoBro's call the Mooch, is a great conversation starter. People who have seen me clean shaven for most part of the year ask me – what is with the new look. I take that opportunity to jump right in and create some awareness of the health issues men face. An old saying goes as - With a great Mooch, comes great responsibility!

On Fund raising to support the Movember initiative

I have been raising funds for the Movember campaign for the last 5 years. With the concept of Movember still in its nascent stage in India, raising funds is a bit difficult, though not impossible. However, spreading awareness about the issues around male health is equally important. In the last 5 years, I have raised funds amounting to $1795 approximately INR 1,20,000.

The total funds raised in the past years can be validated by visiting my Movember page   http://mobro.co/amalvartak

Support from Family, Friends and Colleagues

I have always been supported by Friends, Colleagues and most of all my Family. My birthday is during the Movember month and this year, my Mom, Wife and Son sported fake/sticky moustaches to celebrate my support to Movember.  Some friends support me by growing a moustache and sharing my Movember posts on their Facebook wall.

On Creating Awareness

I create awareness about Prostate and Testicular Cancer in specific. Be it during face to face chats, on Instagram and Facebook, I emphasize the importance of preventive health check-ups around the prostate and the testicles. It is a topic, not many men talk about, they do not take action and this may result in death if not detected in time.

I encourage men that I interact with, to feel their testicles during their bath to check for any irregularities and to include prostate screening or a PSA test during their next health check-up and have those checks at least once a year if above 50 years of age.

Important Message

To all Men - #FeelThyNuts #BeforeItsLateCheckYourProstate  - Do not neglect your testicles and the prostate. Remember, early detection is the key! Get Active, know your family history and talk about it. If you notice something, do take Action!

To all Women - You do not have to be a man to care about Men's health. Encourage the men you know to get an annual screening done.

Monish Chandan, 31, Mumbai

On Supporting the Movember Initiative

I am supporting No-Shave November campaign since last two years.

On what made him decide to take part in this initiative

In my family, my grand maa and cousin died due to Cancer. Hence, I decided to create awareness about Cancer and spread the word.

On Fund raising to support the Movember initiative

This year I have started a blog for raising funds to support cancer needy patients and for their welfare.

Support from Family, Friends and Colleagues

My family and friends are supporting me and spreading the word through their friends’ circles.

On Creating Awareness

I create awareness on what is prostate cancer, its ill effects, the preventive measures and regular health check-ups to be done. Also, I make them aware on the negative aspects of smoking and drinking. This is promoted through my social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.

Important Message

Stop smoking , Eat healthy food  and exercise regularly.