For some, November signals the start of a busy holiday season filled with festivities and shopping. For others, it signals the beginning of Movember and a chance to raise awareness of, and to reflect upon, the impact that cancer and mental illness has had upon the lives of men around the world.
Movember—the trend of men putting their razors down and growing mustaches —was started by The Movember Foundation in Australia in 2004 to bring attention to prostate cancer. The non-profit group challenged men to grow a mustache for the month of November and use their “mo’s” as a conversation starter to raise awareness and charitable funds for prostate cancer.
As the organization expanded, its mission grew to include testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. In its quest to “stop men dying too young,” the organization has funded 1,200 men’s health projects since its inception, and currently boasts a membership of more than 5 million “Mo Bros” and “Mo Sistas.”
“At Such A Young Age”
Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer among men 15-34 years old, with rates doubling in the last 50 years. The cancer is also gaining ground in the Latino community. In an article published on the American Cancer Society’s website it states that the rate of testicular cancer among Hispanic men is rising faster than that of non-Hispanic men. Although highly treatable it is just as deadly.
For Will Terrero, a 49-year-old financial analyst from Queens, New York participating in Movember is one of many ways he raises awareness of testicular cancer, a disease that once disrupted his life.
Terrero was 30 years old, working full-time and a part time MBA-student when he discovered a lump on his testicle through self-examination. Two weeks later, a doctor confirmed that the lump was a malignant cancer tumor.
Work and school were put on hold for six months while he received treatment for the disease. “I didn’t tell my family until I had undergone the first of two operations,” Terrero said. “I kept it quiet on purpose because I wasn’t sure how they would react, since this would be the first time someone in the family at such a young age had cancer.”
Terrero underwent an operation to remove the tumor at Winthrop University Hospital in Long Island. After doctors analyzed the tumor, they discovered he had an aggressive germ cell tumor. As a result, Terrero had a second surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in which lymph nodes from his groin were removed.
Luckily, doctors caught the disease early enough to forgo any chemotherapy or radiation treatment. He continued to have regular follow-up appointments every month, and in late 2000 he was deemed cancer free.
In addition to participating in Movember annually, Terrero speaks with patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering about his experience and is part of the hospital’s running team which raises money for cancer research.
Early Detection
Another silent killer, prostate cancer, is currently expected to affect 164,690 men in the U.S. alone in 2018, according to the American Cancer Society. Prostate cancer is especially worrisome for Latino men who are diagnosed at high rates. About 2,000 Latino men are expected to die from prostate cancer this year alone.
The key to treatment of both cancers is early detection. According to Eric Peterson, a registered nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, neither cancer will show symptoms until they are “well established.”
“If there is a family history, then it should always be mentioned at a doctor’s visit,” Peterson said. “Older men tend to dismiss symptoms of prostate cancer because they think it’s just [signs of them] getting older.”
For Terrero, the key to beating the disease was catching it early. He emphasized the importance of self-exams as a means of early detection for men of all ages. “Constantly check yourself!” Terrero said. “I have met patients that have been diagnosed later in life, even past the age of 50, and they never thought it would happen to them, so always be sure to ‘feel your balls!’”
A Hidden Health Crisis
The newest facet of Movember has been the issue of mental health problems and suicide among men. According to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide rates among Latinos grew 8.1% in 2016. Of that number, three out of every four cases are likely to be Latino men. As the rush of recent suicides of high profile men have shown us, mental well being is elusive to many men no matter what age, stage or position in life.
The Movember Foundation views mental health problems as a “hidden health crisis,” and one that is not considered a global priority. They find that most men would rather “tough it out” when dealing with issues of mental health, rather than seek treatment despite the fact that 1 in 4 adults will experience mental health trouble in their lifetime.
To help solve this problem, the foundation has formed the Making Connections initiative through a partnership with the Prevention Institute, a non-profit organization specializing in preventing health issues before they occur. The initiative funds 14 communities across the U.S. with a focus on creating healthy connections among men and boys who are at risk of developing mental health issues due to stressors such as economic problems and psychological trauma.
If you think that you or someone you know might be at risk of self-harm, immediate help can be found by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).