This month here at KwikMed, we have taken time, as well as plenty of scratches to our faces to celebrate Movember. Yes, it is that time of year when men put away the razors, shaving cream and after shave and see how much hair we can grow on our faces in a month. While there are plenty of itchy faces, wives and girlfriends shaking their heads and men walking around looking like they are wanna-be Duck Dynasty knock-off’s, Movember is more than just about facial hair. It is about taking time to raise awareness for men’s health.

Prostate and testicular cancer are becoming more prominent in our lives today. It is said that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives. Just in 2013, roughly 238,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, with 30,000 deaths as a result. testicular cancer is usually predominately diagnosed in men ages 15-35 years old. Over 7,000 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer this year alone. Though testicular cancer is very treatable when found early, many will die this year because of it.

I have participated in Movember this year to dedicate it first off to my grandfather who died of cancer. He was an amazing man, and was one of the most loving men I will ever have had the honor of knowing in my life. he was strong, however he did leave us way too soon. I do it for him, as well as many other brave men I have known who have battled cancer, are battling it, or have left us because of cancer.

I myself am a survivor of cancer. I was lucky to fight it and win, and I feel a tremendous amount of honor and blessing to be able to say that I can sit here, type this blog post and be in remission. I can say that cancer is one of the scariest things that anyone can go through, so to raise awareness on what cancer does to us, what we can do to help is huge. many go through it alone, and there are some out there that may have cancer right now and not know it. It is time that we raise awareness and help spread the word so that we can all know what to look out for, and what to do to check, know and repeat. Early detection is very key in any cancer diagnosis, so if you are someone who does not go to the doctor until you are really sick, be sure to know what to look for, and get in to your doctor more regularly, just to be more careful.

I dedicate this blog to all the men and women battling cancer today. Be strong, fight on, you can do it… and we love you.

Happy Mustaches!

By Chris Haro