The Mo’ Down on Movember – Changing the Face of Men’s Health
30 November 2015: With only a few hours to go till men across South Africa, indeed the world, reach for their razors to end their facial fuzz, it’s time to get the low-down on Movember (or should that be the mo’ down?) and find out what drives the biggest men’s health movement of our time.
“It’s simple. By raising funds and creating much needed conversations, we want to break down the stigmas associated with male specific diseases and encourage men to talk more openly about the health risks that they face,” says Garron Gsell, CEO and Founder of the Men’s Foundation, which holds the license for Movember in South Africa. “We are committed to helping men to live happier, healthier and longer lives.”
Movember operates in 21 countries around the world, including South Africa.
Globally, over 5 million people have raised in excess of R4.7 billion since 2004, which has funded more than 800 survivorship and research programmes focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer and, more recently, men’s mental health and physical inactivity.
During the past six years, the Movember Foundation in South Africa has donated over R20 million to their health partner, the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA). Projects include the Movember Prostate and Testicular Cancer Patient Navigation Programme and the updating of the South African National Cancer Registry, amongst others.
Addressing an issue pivotal to South African society, where access to information is often limited or lost in translation, the Patient Navigation Programme has impacted 109 749 lives and funded 100 navigators, recruited from communities across the country. These patient navigators are informed and accountable for assisting men to access health and social support services, especially trained to give care that is sensitive to each individual’s situation, culture and knowledge of cancer, as well as catering to the needs of their loved ones and caregivers. This programme also ensures that information is translated and available to patients in order to facilitate their understanding of the disease as well as the treatment options available to them.
The SA National Cancer Registry is currently several years behind in real figures surrounding the statistics and rates of incidence of all cancers. An up-to-date registry of prostate and testicular cancer will give more insight into the current effects of these diseases in South Africa and will aid researchers and caregivers in finding ways to combat these effects.
“We can’t plan an effective response to cancer when we are working with statistics that are outdated,” explains Professor Michael Herbst, Health Specialist at CANSA. “There are countries in the rest of Africa where cancer statistics are available up to 2014. In South Africa – thanks to a major investment by the Movember Foundation – we are now dealing with 2010 figures.”
Article supplied by Magna Carta PR on behalf of Movember South Africa