In Australia several years ago men began growing mustaches to raise awareness and research funds for prostate cancer. The movement has grown and this year is active in the United States. This is something that sons, fathers and grandfathers can do together to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

Men willing to look like Earl Hickey, Wilford Brimley or Borat for at least a month will help raise money for prostate-cancer awareness by participating in “Movember,” a non-profit project started in Australia in 2003.

The event has raised $8.5 million for the Prostate Cancer Foundation since its inception. This is its first year in the United States, and San Diego is one of five cities in the nation where a gala party will be held at its culmination.

Movember began after a group of friends in Australia set out to find something that was “retro” but had not yet made a comeback. Mustaches —- or mo’s, as they’re called in Australia —- were the answer. As a way of coaxing men into growing mustaches, the friends teamed with the Prostate Cancer Foundation and created a way to raise money for a good cause. The concept is kind of like a walk-a-thon, but with even less effort.

To read the entire article in the North County Times click here.

Sons who are growing mustaches can make a difference in the health of their Dads.

“I was growing a mustache in Movember and asked my dad to sponsor me. He asked what it was all about and we started discussing prostate cancer. I asked him if he had been tested and he said no. So he went and had the test, was found to have prostate cancer, and quickly had the surgery. (He) is recovering nicely. Funny what a mustache can do!”

Click here to read the entire article in the San Fransisco Chronicle and see photos of some of the mustaches.

For more information, including rules and regulations on how to grow your mo, click here.

Growing mustaches can be fun. You can get inspiration by seeing more pictures of men who have participated in the movement by clicking here.

Not everyone thinks it is a good idea.

Trent Stamp is the president of Charity Navigator, America’s largest charity evaluator. he wrote about men and women in their differences in their ability to raise money for their cancer causes. He compares breast cancer and prostate cancer fundraising efforts.

Prostate cancer fundraising will continue to take a back seat to breast cancer, and while some of it can be attributed to men’s insecurities about talking about their bodies, some of it will simply be because of the lameness of the campaigns. Maybe the breast cancer advocates could give a few ideas to the prostate cancer folks. Even if they used up all of their good ones during October, the ones that are left over can’t be any worse than Movember.

Click here to read his blog.

How many of the men reading this will grow a mustache, if not this year then maybe next?