“MOVEMBER” – WHAT IT IS & HOW TO SUPPORT THE MEN IN YOUR LIFE

We typically focus on all things women’s health and wellbeing here, but in recognition of “Movember,” I thought we’d take a beat to talk about some ways to better support the health of the guys we love! Most of us have at least one important man in our lives – our husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, friends, etc. who we want to live healthy, thriving and long lives too! The first step in caring for those who mean the most to us is education, so here’s the low-down on this “Movember” you may have heard referenced before… hint: it really is more than just putting up with extra facial hair for a month ;) .

You’ve heard of “Movember” – but what is it!?

Per the Movember Foundation’s website movember.com, “Movember” was officially launched in 2003 by two friends in Melbourne, Australia who decided to gather men to grow mustaches with the purpose of raising awareness for prostate cancer. The movement grew quickly to include New Zealand, Spain and the UK in 2005, and then Canada and the USA in 2007. It has since grown to include 21 countries and raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the following causes:

Men’s mental health & suicide prevention

Prostate cancer

Testicular cancer

Statistically, men die 5 years earlier than women, “for largely preventable reasons,” per movember.com. Mental health is unfortunately a big chunk of that reason. Did you know that 75% of suicides are by men? The Movember site recommends the following ALEC for checking in with the men in your life:

A – Ask how he’s feeling.

L – Listen to his response and follow up with more questions.

E – Encourage actions to help him feel better.

C – Check-in regularly to show you care.

What you need to know about prostate cancer:

Prostate cancer affects only males and is the 2nd leading cancer for men. Men are more at risk if they are African American or if someone else in their family has or has had prostate cancer. Similar to many cancers, the key to survival is early detection. However, symptoms can often go unnoticed or be non-existent. Because of this, anyone with a prostate should begin being testing at age 50, or 45 if they have either higher risk factor. The test is a simple blood test. Some symptoms to watch for:

Frequent, difficulty or painful urination.

Weak or interrupted stream of urine.

Blood in urine.

Difficulty having an erection.

Painful ejaculation and/or blood in semen.

Pain in lower back, hips, thighs or pelvis.

What you need to know about testicular cancer:

Testicular cancer is far less common than prostate cancer, but is most likely to affect younger white men (age 15 to 39). Other risk factors can include family history of testicular cancer, abnormal development and an undescended testicle. Men can perform routine self-examinations similar to how women perform breast checks to detect changes and irregularities in their breasts. Find instructions on how to perform these checks here: https://us.movember.com/mens-health/testicular-cancer. Symptoms to watch for include:

Lumps or enlargement of either testicle.

A “heavy” feeling scrotum.

An ache or pain in the abdomen / groin area.

Pain or discomfort in a testicle or scrotum.

Back pain.

So now that you know, keep this information in your memory and on hand for future reference. Whether you’re passing it on to relatives, listening for suspicious symptom complaints or helping to remind your hubby remember his monthly checks, you might just lengthen a life! As usual, I always have a few supplemental products I can recommend, like our Men's Vitalize, our Q Chill Terpenes Elixir and our Q Core. Head over to this link to check out these amazing products!

Cheers

Lucie Mitchell