October 28, 2011
ESKS.com
Rose Mary Phillip
Thirty days. That’s the time it will take the Eskimos to change the face of men’s health and look silly doing it. It begins this Tuesday, November 1st and they need your help.
Join the Movember Movement. Grow a moustache, nose neighbour, crumb catcher or Handlebar Hank. If you can’t grow it, support someone who can. (Ladies, this means you.) When you do, you’ll be a mo-bro of offensive duo Kyle Koch and Aaron Fiacconi.
“It’s kind of an intimate thing for me. My dad has been going through prostate cancer for the last two years,” says Fiacconi. “It could have gone in either direction, but he battled through.
“I got to see some pretty awesome aspects of the human spirit. We bonded in a new way and it brought our family together.”
If you think Movember is a silly gimmick, you’re not alone. Koch did too. “I just thought it was a bunch of guys who wanted to look stupid with a moustache.” Wrong. The campaign gives men the opportunity and confidence to talk about their health more openly. The goal is to increase early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment to ultimately reduce the number of deaths from men’s cancers, most of which are highly curable when caught early.
In Movember 2010, over 119,000 Canadians raised $22.3 million. They join mo-bros from eight other countries that raised a global total of $76.8 million. Over $176 million has been raised since the campaign began in 2003.
At the time this article was posted, over 53,000 canucks have already registered for Movember 2011 and raised nearly $1 million. Many are participating to honour the memory of the late NDP leader Jack Layton who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and sported a dandy of a duster himself.
Still need convincing? Would you grow a mo if you had a one-in-seven chance of developing prostate cancer? Because you do. Yes, YOU.
“Cancer doesn’t pick and choose by age, race or anything like that. Men need realize that we are a vulnerable group,” says Fiacconi. “Men have to let their guard down and eliminate the macho aspect of it all when it comes to our health. We can’t have the superman mentality.”
Look, no one pretends it’s easy to talk about your prostate. I mean, really, it’s about as awkward as it gets. But growing a mo can help save lives by turning your face into a billboard, encouraging the important conversation of prostate cancer – even if you don’t raise a dime to battle the deadly disease.
The lip sweater of receiver Tyler Scott didn’t raise any money last year, but it helped his friends and family speak about the previously unspoken. This year, he plans to raise funds through his T Scott Movember Team. Join it.
The silence surrounding prostate cancer is all too familiar to Koch and he is excited to do his part to end it.
“My grandfather had it. Nobody really knew. It was just like poppa is going in for surgery. Why? To have his prostate removed. No one knew he had it or how long he had it,” he says. “I didn’t want to grow a moustache for the sake of doing it. So, we’re going to try and raise some money.”
Five thousand to be exact. Join Hairy Hogs Team of Koch and Fiacconi to help them get there.
Now that you’re on board, here’s your five-step Movember action plan:
1. Join the EskiMovember network or the network of your favourite participating player at www.movember.com, or create your own team.
2. Shave your face on Tuesday November 1st.
3. Grow your moustache until the end of the month. Look to Ned Flanders, Yosemite Sam and Abe Lincoln for inspiration.
4. Talk and get sponsors. All funds raised support Prostate Cancer Canada. All conversations support kicking cancer’s butt.
5. Celebrate. Movember ends three days after the Esks plan to bring home the Grey Cup so your party theme is already in the bag.
If you’re hair-impaired, moustache-challenged or not willing to clash with the soul patch you’ve carefully cultivated, you can still help. Talk to everyone you know (and some you don’t). Ask them to donate to the EskiMovember Team. Tweet it. Facebook it. Scream it if you need to. No donation is too small and every dollar is appreciated.
Scott’s personal request for the Eskimo Empire: “Grow the dirtiest dusters you can and raise awareness.”