There’s lots of growth in the air

Mo Bros are ready to begin growing moustaches to raise awareness of prostate cancer, Rachel Borrill reports.

NEXT Fri, Nov 1, expect to notice a lot of the male population of Ireland suddenly sprouting hair on their top lips. Yes, Movember is here.

Neiler Rooney, the Irish country manager for Movember, hopes that this year will have the largest number of Irish Mo Bros ever. Last year more than 17,200 men grew a moustache and raised €2.1m to help raise awareness about prostate cancer and to support those suffering from it.

“This is our 6th year of Movember, it really does get people talking and raise money. It is very unique, it is fun, it catches the public’s imagination. We call ourselves the laziest charity in the world because all you need to take part is testosterone coursing through your veins, just enough of it to grow a moustache,’’ he says.

“The results are hilarious, it is like a flashback to the 1970s. All the sporting stars, actors, had one back then.

“Movember, for me, marks the change of how prostate cancer is being researched and treated. We are the biggest fund raiser for prostate cancer in Ireland and with that comes great responsibility.’’

An estimated 2,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in Ireland, with one in eight men being diagnosed with the disease during their lifetime, which is the highest rate in Europe.

To combat this, Movember and the Irish Cancer Society have just launched, The Prostate Cancer Transformative Programme Grant, which has a €750,000 research fund.

Professor John Fitzpatrick, head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, said the aim was to transform our understanding of prostate cancer through “new and creative’’ research ideas.

“It is our hope that this grant will form the basis of a research programme that will lead to significant improvements for prostate cancer patients,’’ he explained.

Research groups from all over Ireland are invited to put their proposals forward and the three most innovative will receive funding. Applications close on Wed, Oct 30.

Last year over one million men across the world took part in Movember. While in Ireland the focus is on prostate cancer, due to the climbing statistics, the international focus is on men’s health, with an emphasis on testicular cancer and mental wellbeing.

So if you fancy being a Mo Bro this year, the rules are very simple. Once registered at www.movember.com each Mo Bro must begin his hairy journey on Nov 1 with a smooth, clean, shaven face. Then simply grow and groom a moustache for the month.

However, according to the website, it’s important to remember your moustache cannot join your side burns, “as that is considered a beard’’, nor can the moustache’s handlebars join any hair on your chin as “that is considered a goatee’’.

The funds raised will help research programmes and continue to finance advice lines for cancer sufferers, information services, night nursing and paying for transport to and from treatment centres.

“We also aim to raise awareness, to get men talking about their health. With Irish men your arm could be falling off, and they would still say ‘Oh, it is grand’,” says Rooney

“There is no cure to prostate cancer on the horizon, but we really are attacking it from every different angle, by improving men’s awareness, the importance of early detection, so hopefully we will be able to reduce the mortality rates in Ireland over the coming years.’’

* www.movember.com

* www.cancer.ie