Movember are raising awareness for these 3 men's health issues
Movember is a charity dedicated to changing the way we approach men’s health, whether that be mental or physical health.
The charity uses their innovative campaigns to raise awareness, spread information and spark conversation about men’s mental health, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. The money raised for Movember is distributed across a broad range of men’s health projects and to trusted men’s health partners.
Mental health and suicide prevention
Mental health can affect anyone and everyone. But Movember focuses on raising awareness for men’s mental health specifically - we lose 60 men around the world every hour from suicide.
According to a report by Movember, almost half of young UK men (aged 18-34) still feel under pressure to “man up”. This fear of opening up and as a result, appearing less masculine is resulting in men not feeling confident to open up and talk about their feelings with their friends, family and partner.
Three out of four suicides are men and it remains the biggest cause of death for men under the age of 44. Movember works to raise awareness and drive the conversation surrounding men’s mental health.
Use ALEC to reach out
To help make navigating conversations easier and helping the men who are in your life open up, R U OK have created ALEC. These four steps, promoted by Movember, could help you delve deeper into the mind of your mate:
- Ask. It seems obvious but simply asking your friend how they are when they are going through a tough time could make all the difference.
- Listen. When you’ve asked someone anything you should be listening to what they have to say but especially when it comes to mental health. Listen to what they are saying and give him your full attention.
- Encourage action. Check that they are taking care of themselves. Try to encourage the little things like getting enough sleep, eating proper meals and getting outside and getting fresh air. If he has felt low for more than 2 weeks and it’s different to anything they have experienced in the past, suggest that they go and speak to their doctor.
- Check in. If it has been a while since you last spoke to your friend, suggest making plans. If you normally catch up over text, perhaps float the idea of meeting in person. Also, don’t forget, people often say that they are fine when they aren’t. Do not be afraid to ask twice if someone is okay - it could save a life.
Starting conversations
Not everyone finds it easy to start conversations and similarly not everyone finds it easy to open up about their feelings when questioned. Movember has created a really simple tool to help practise those, sometimes difficult but important conversations.
This gives you the chance to practise these types of conversations without judgement and a chance to get advice and tips on how best to approach your male friends who may be suffering with their mental health. Click here to try it out.
Prostate cancer
As well as men’s mental health and suicide prevention, one of the other causes that Movember campaign for is prostate cancer awareness.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the UK, with a staggering 1.4 million men globally being diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and as with most cancers, early detection is key.
PSA testing and knowing your risk
The test that is used to look for prostate cancer is called a PSA test and is nothing more than a simple, routine blood test. However, although simple, this blood test could be crucial in detecting a measurement of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) concentration in your blood.
Knowing your risk with certain types of cancer is crucial, especially if you are more at risk because this way you know to be more vigilant in looking for signs and symptoms. Prostate cancer is similar to so many other types of cancer in the sense that your risk increases with your age but this doesn’t mean this type of cancer only affects older men - prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide.
Those who are more at risk of prostate cancer are men who are Black, and men who have a family history (a brother or father with prostate cancer), are 2.5x more likely to get prostate cancer. If you’re aged 50, you should be in talks with your doctor about PSA testing. If you’re Black, you need to start that conversation at 45 and if you have a brother or father with a history of prostate cancer, you should do it at 45.
Signs and symptoms of prostate cancer
Signs of prostate cancer are often spotted during routine check-ups with a doctor. But some men will experience changes in their urinary and sexual functions that may point towards prostate cancer.
Detecting prostate cancer early can sometimes be difficult as not everyone experiences symptoms. However, some of the signs to look out for include:
- A need to urinate more, especially at night
- Weak or interrupted flow of urine
- Difficulty starting urination or holding urine back
- Painful or burning urination
- Difficulty having an erection
- Painful ejaculation
- Blood in urine or semen
- Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs
Testicular cancer
The third and final cause that Movember raises awareness and funds for is testicular cancer. This type of cancer is the number one cancer amongst young guys but 62% of those who are most at risk do not know how to check themselves.
Checking your nuts
When testicular cancer is caught early, this type of cancer is highly treatable and curable. So knowing yourself and checking yourself is essential.
Getting into any sort of habit is difficult but when it comes to your health, it is important that you get into the habit of checking yourself. By checking your balls every month, you know what is normal for you. That way, you’ll know if something is different for you and what to look out for. Plus, Movember has created a helpful video to help you check yourself for testicular cancer which you can watch here.
The facts and figures
The stats can be scary so instead of trying to sugar coat it, we’re just going to list the most important facts and figures below:
- Over 70,000 people are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year.
- At least 7,600 men die from testicular cancer every year.
- However, over 575,500 men are living with and beyond testicular cancer right now.
- You’re generally more at risk of getting testicular cancer if: you’re related to someone who has had testicular cancer, if you’ve ever had testicular cancer before, if you had undescended testicles at birth. Your race and ethnicity can also play a part in your risk - in the USA or Europe your risk will be higher and lower in Africa and Asia.
Testicular cancer and fertility
If you’ve been recently diagnosed with testicular cancer or are displaying any of the signs and symptoms, it’s understandable to begin to wonder how having this cancer could affect your fertility. When testicular cancer is caught early, this type of cancer is highly curable. There are some treatments, however, that could cause problems with your fertility.
But it is not guaranteed whether or not you will become infertile, either from the treatment or the cancer, so it’s always best to check. You can test to check if you're fertile or not. To use Movember’s helpful tool ‘Nuts and Bolts’ which has all of the information necessary to learn more about testicular cancer - click here.
Signs and symptoms
Apart from regular checking, it’s good to know the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer. As well as checking for lumps and changes to what you know is normal for you, keep an eye out for the following and if you see more than one of these changes in one of your testicles, it’s best to book an appointment with your GP:
- A difference in the appearance between the two testicles
- A dull ache or sharp pain in your testicles which may come and go
- A feeling of heaviness down there
- A feeling of firmness in one testicle
To find out more about the different health issues that Movember campaigns for, click here to go to their website and support them by donating as and where you can.