November’s time to grow a mo
Bro, grow your mo and get tested.
That’s the message Dr. Ian Brown shared during a visit to Mario’s Family Hairstyling in Niagara Falls.
“Men are very hesitant to talk about issues that affect their own health,” said Brown, a Niagara Falls urologist and director of Niagara Health’s prostate diagnostic assessment program.
“They’re much better at talking about other things.”
Every November, Brown, who is also the chief of surgery at Niagara Health, grows a moustache in support of Moustache Mania.
“We need to put it on the table and have a discussion with men about their health, their prostate health, because it’s a part of the male anatomy that we tend to ignore.”
Organized by Niagara Health Foundation, Moustache Mania raises funds and awareness of the local prostate clinic.
Participants collect pledges and are invited to support the initiative in their own creative way. If growing a moustache isn’t in the cards, participants can wear a paper moustache, draw one on, or find a surrogate moustache grower.
Brown dropped by barber Mario De Vellis’s shop on Friday for a close shave before embarking on the hair-raising fundraising campaign which runs Nov. 1 to 30.
“Despite the fact my wife is completely against facial hair, she supports me any way,” he joked.
Fellow urologist Dr. Dianne Heritz will launch her campaign with a visit to stylist Jane Lammers at Hair Quarters in St. Catharines. The St. Paul Street salon has supported the fundrasier since its inception.
Since Moustache Mania began in 2014, more than $65,000 has been raised.
Organizers hope to raise $20,000 this year, said Courtney McLoughlin, development officer, events and community giving for Niagara Health Foundation.
Also in support of the clinic, Strada West in Niagara Falls will host its annual Pasta for Prostate on Nov. 25 and a public information forum on prostate cancer will be held at Club Italia on Nov. 28.
The prostate clinic at the Walker Family Cancer Centre in St. Catharines, the first of its kind in Niagara, opened in September 2014 with the goal of improving the quality of care and reducing wait times for men with suspected prostate cancer.
“It’s all centred around the patient experience, not the system experience,” Brown explained.
“At the end of the whole process, the men and their families get to sit down with the experts who treat prostate cancer and go through the whole story and talk about their choices so when they leave they are educated about what comes next and they get to make up their own minds.”
To date, almost 4,000 men have been referred to the clinic. Of those individuals, 1,400 were diagnosed with cancer.
The wait time from referral to clinic consultation is 14 days. Before the clinic was established, the wait time averaged around three months.
One in seven Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, making it the most common cancer in men.
To join the Moustache Mania Movement, visit www.NiagaraHealthFoundation.com or call Niagara Health Foundation at 905-323-FUND. To pledge Dr. Brown, visit https://ofnhs.akaraisin.com/2018MoustacheMania/DrIanBrown.