Although it may seem like a distant memory, it was only three and a half weeks ago that Jasper鈥檚 men were walking around baby faced, after a good, clean shave鈥�20 days later, many are now well on their way to becoming Ron Burgundy.
Give them another 10 days and they might just be on par with the Monopoly Man or possibly even Tom Selleck.
These days, moustaches aren鈥檛 hard to come by; men of all ages sport lip foliage. But this month鈥檚 sudden whisker surge isn鈥檛 for fashion. Rather, men are growing their mos to bring awareness to prostate and testicular cancers, as well as men鈥檚 mental health.
In November, the moustache replaces the pink ribbon and turns the spotlight on men.
The campaign is called Movember. It began in 2003 when a group of Australian men gathered together to not only bring back the 鈥榮tache, but also to raise money and awareness for cancer research.
The campaign has since spread from the land down under to countries around the globe, attracting millions of 鈥淢o Bros鈥� and 鈥淢o Sistas鈥� to the cause and raising nearly $575 million for research in 21 countries.
Jasper has participated in the cause before, but this year the community鈥檚 support has taken off. There are two teams raising funds: Sawridge 2014 and the Jasper Volunteer Fire Brigade, and the Sawridge has stepped up, organizing events, including a gala on Nov. 30.
Through these efforts, Jasper鈥檚 鈥淢o Bros鈥� are breaking down walls. They鈥檙e showing other men that it鈥檚 OK to talk about their health and to visit the doctor鈥攖wo things many men aren鈥檛 willingly known to do.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men. In fact, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
But, the good news is, if you catch it early, the chances of survival are sky high.
So, in the name of a long, healthy life, we encourage all of Jasper鈥檚 men鈥攜oung and old鈥攖o keep up with their annual checkups.
