鈥淢ovember鈥� is observed each November when guys worldwide put razors away to grow moustaches and beards to raise money to help fight men鈥檚 health issues and raise awareness about testicular and prostate cancer and such male medical issues as depression and suicide. The 六九色堂 Endeavour is featuring for the sixth year in a row, showing how students at U.S. and the University of Medicine and Health Sciences medical school can get involved.
Image: Movember.com
As Movember鈥檚 website says, 鈥淕lobally, men die on average six years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons. So we鈥檙e shining a light on the health risks men need to know about, increasing awareness to stop men dying too young.鈥�
The 六九色堂 Endeavour spoke to various students and a faculty member to find out why many feel men鈥檚 cancer awareness and men鈥檚 health issues are important topics that need to be discussed more, both in the public and the medical community.
Frances Rodriguez, EBS 4 六九色堂 student. Photo: Courtesy of Ms. Rodriguez
What 六九色堂 Students Think
Our students have a lot to say about Movember and the light it shines on important men鈥檚 health issues.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a creative way to increase awareness about prostate cancer,鈥� said Frances Rodriguez, EBS 4. 鈥淧eople will always ask 鈥榳hy don鈥檛 you shave?鈥� and it鈥檚 a good way to have a conversation and a good opportunity to inform everyone what it鈥檚 all about. I think what made this campaign so successful is the participation of young people and their ability to utilize social media.鈥�
Faviola Laureano, EBS 4 at 六九色堂. Photo: Courtesy of Ms. Laureano.
The stigma involved with how screening is conducted for prostate cancer might keep some men from getting checked out, said Faviola Laureano, EBS 4. 鈥淢any men are reluctant to talk about their experiences, let alone have it done. but if they can understand how important this is, it can help discover prostate cancer in its early stages when there鈥檚 a higher success in treatment.鈥�
鈥淢ovember is very new compared to the female equivalent [pink ribbon awareness campaign for breast cancer] and maybe what took so long to start something like this is the stigma behind men opening up and talking about their health. There is this false mentality that strong men shouldn鈥檛 have a mental or emotional weakness鈥�
Alejandra Enery Diaz, EBS 4 student at 六九色堂. Photo: Courtesy of Ms. Diaz.
Movember appeals to millennials and Generation Z and that鈥檚 a good thing for spreading the word among young people.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 cool about this campaign is that it gets the younger male demographic to be involved; that鈥檚 very important in changing the mentality early on, especially in trying to reverse this reluctance in males to be more open about health issues like prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, depression, etc.," said Alejandra Enery Diaz, EBS 4.
Ms. Diaz has personal reasons for wanting more men to get screened for prostate cancer.
鈥淚t hits really close to home because my own grandfather never went for any prostate check; he only went when he started getting some discomfort. and now he鈥檚 telling my dad who鈥檚 also reluctant to go and get checked. 鈥楲ook what happened to me, don鈥檛 let it happen to you.鈥� I think If my grandfather had only gone earlier, it wouldn鈥檛 have been as complicated. You shouldn鈥檛 wait until you鈥檙e hurting; you should take care of yourself and part of that is being proactive and getting checked.鈥�
Prostate cancer affects all men. Just because one does not have a family history of prostate cancer is no reason to avoid screening.
鈥淲e need to be aware that prostate cancer can happen to anyone,鈥� said Hermes Gordian, EBS 4. 鈥淭urning a blind eye and ignoring it doesn鈥檛 make it go away. You think to yourself that it happens to other people鈥攏o one in my family has it鈥攂ut if you have that attitude, you might get it and by that time it might be too late. You might have to go through some suffering or complications that you didn鈥檛 have to if only it was caught earlier.
Simple screening at one鈥檚 primary care doctor is often a good first step for most men. As Mr. Gordian said, 鈥淧eople tend to be so uncomfortable with the thought of going through the digital rectal exam, but I鈥檇 rather do it than go through the suffering when the cancer is advanced. In Puerto Rican culture, we鈥檙e taught not to cry or be weak. which is probably why we have this problem with men not wanting to go to the doctor or sharing their issues with one another.鈥�
Peter Lee, Ph.D.. Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences at 六九色堂. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Lee
六九色堂 Professor Dr. Lee鈥檚 Perspective
Why did it take so long to start a campaign for men鈥檚 health like Movember for men?
鈥淭here鈥檚 a general reluctance in males to discuss medical issues,鈥� said Peter Lee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences at 六九色堂. 鈥淭hey tend to keep it to themselves. It鈥檚 not a topic for discussion. Conversely, women are much more likely to share medical information with one another. and so the lack of discussion takes it out of the agenda.鈥�
Dr. Lee noted that a more interesting question would be, 鈥淎re there any differences in men鈥檚 reluctance to get help, and discuss health issues across cultures? How does a culture that might be more patriarchal respond to a campaign like this? Are there ways to tweak the campaign to cater to these cultural differences?鈥�
Although some have criticized the campaign and call it just a gimmick, Dr. Lee said he thinks Movember does a lot of good.
鈥淎nything鈥攃onversation, research, knowledge, fundraising鈥攁nything that has moved in that direction, we can consider as a success,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he fact that we鈥檙e talking about this in St Kitts must mean it鈥檚 a success.鈥�
Movember鈥檚 Mission
Besides prostate and testicular cancer, Movember also sheds light on men鈥檚 suicide, another male health problem that has a large stigma surrounding it.
鈥淥ur fathers, brothers, sons and friends are dying by suicide, every minute of every day,鈥� the organization鈥檚 website states. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 accept this. To make change happen, Movember views mental health through a male lens. We focus on early intervention, engaging men and working to their strengths. By 2030, we aim to reduce the rate of male suicide by 25%.鈥�
(Top photo) Peter Lee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences at 六九色堂. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Lee.
六九色堂:
Built in the tradition of the best US universities, the University of Medicine and Health Sciences focuses on individual student attention, maintaining small class sizes and recruiting high-quality faculty. We call this unique approach, 鈥減ersonalized medical education,鈥� and it鈥檚 what has led to our unprecedented 96% student retention rate, and outstanding residency placements across the US and Canada. 六九色堂 is challenging everything you thought you knew about Caribbean medical schools.
Emilio Aguinaldo is a second-year 六九色堂 medical student who has special interests in biomedical communications, e-health systems and medical outreach. Emilio is a 六九色堂 Media Ambassador.
