With the arrival of November comes the time to consider growing a moustache for an excellent cause.

Men around the world are signing onto the ‘Movember’ cause – growing a moustache through the month of November while raising funds for prostate cancer research.

Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Those interested in taking part can register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. According to the web site, for the rest of the month, the ‘Mo Bros’ groom and trim their moustaches while signing up support of friends and family.

According to the Movember web site, prostate cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in Canadian men.

An estimated 4,100 men will die from prostate cancer in 2017. One in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and the risk of being diagnosed increases with age.

Prostate cancer occurs when some of the cells in the prostate reproduce far more rapidly than normal, resulting in a tumor. If left untreated, prostate cancer cells may eventually spread from the prostate and invade distant parts of the body, particularly the lymph nodes and bones, producing secondary tumours in a process known as metastasis.

One of the most worrying aspects of the disease is that most prostate cancers develop without men experiencing any symptoms in the early stages

Meanwhile, for those struggling with the disease, there is a group of men here in Red Deer who are ready to offer support.

The Red Deer Prostate Cancer Support Group (Prostate Cancer Canada Network – local chapter) has been lending a supportive hand for nearly 20 years now. It was first launched by Bill Martynes and Mike Eckenswiller, with help from Marg Scheyen of the Canadian Cancer Society.

The awareness and support group, which continues to meet every third Thursday of the month since 1997, is an informal get-together, where men share stories about their experiences with prostate cancer. The meetings are open to anyone who is interested, and there is no expectation of commitment.

The members of the group have a lot of information and even more personal stories to help men and their families gain insight into the different types of treatments and approaches. Anyone interested in more information about the group can contact Bert at 403-343-3808 or Bill at 403-342-0694.

Regarding Movember, the movement was launched back in 2003 by some men in Australia who wanted to bring back the moustache into fashion while raising money for prostate cancer research. There are now formal campaigns in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, the UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa and Ireland.