Because men’s health is important I’m going to start these No Shave November post now!
4 Ways Movember Benefits Men’s Health
When it comes to living long and healthy lives, gender plays a big role.
Statistically men have gotten the short end of the stick. Our life expectancy is about 6 years less than that of our female counterparts.
Movember helps in many ways. The majority of these illnesses are ignored or turned a blind eye to. This month helps open the eyes of the general public through awareness.
Financially, It helps to fund research projects all over the world for the 4 leading types of illnesses that men face:
Testicular CancerProstate CancerPoor Mental HealthPhysical Inactivity
Their website also links to particular research projects that they help support. It is a great place to get educated.
Mainly affecting younger men ages 15-35, testicular cancer is the most common to go unnoticed.
If caught early, survival rates are high.
It’s important to get a regularphysical exam from your doctor every 6 months that includes a checkup for testicular cancer.
A common issue for testicular cancer survivors is relapse due to treatment at an early age. Assuming a clean bill of health forever, they never return for regular checkups.
You can read more about how the Movember Foundation is supporting testicular cancer here.
Coming in at the number 2 most diagnosed cancer for men, prostate cancer affects 1 in 7 men during their lifetime.
The American Cancer Society predicts that in 2015 there will be 228,800 new cases in men and 27,540 deaths from prostate cancer.
Symptoms rarely occur in early stages. If you have symptoms, schedule a checkup immediately.
What can you do to prevent this from occurring to you?
It’s important to understand that with age comes an increased risk factor. Get regular checkups if you’re over 50.
Talk to your family and learn about your health history. Has your father or grandfather ever been diagnosed?
Learn about your ethnicity and if it increases your risk. Different ethnicities can have greater or less risk factors.
Studies show that men are 3.5 to 7 times more likely to commit suicidedue to a mental illness than women are.
As men, we have a tendency to not want to “hurt our pride” by admitting that we need help. Our ego says “we can get over it ourselves”, without assistance.
Unfortunately that silence leads to over 85 men a day committing suicide.
If you know anyone dealing with these issues, or you may be one of them, go to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline for help. Your call is 100% free and confidential.
It goes without saying that remaining active decreases our chances of all the other health issues occurring.
However, lack of exercise accounts for 3.2 million deaths globally, and 41% of men in high income countries don’t exercise enough.
So why aren’t we moving more?
It’s time to put the MOVE in Movember.
Nothing gets the endorphines flowing better than exercise. Being physically healthy translates into healthy thoughts and feelings.
The Movember foundation has a 30 day challenge to get you moving every single day.
2 Ways You Can Participate in Movember
Don’t be the guy who stands off to the side and watches while all the other men take action.
These are real men battling real obstacles.
Here are two ways YOU can get involved.
Take Action for all the men in your life. LINK
Avoid organizations like the white ribbon Society the good men project and the Australian men’s Network.
They they do not care about men, they care about using them.