Mr Dunne said men often focused on the removal of cancer rather than the ongoing effects of treatment and surgery, including urinary and erectile dysfunction. Movember funded programmes to help men deal with these effects or pre-surgery treatments to lessen the impact.
Movember was also a co-funder of FarmStrong - an initiative designed to encourage farmers to live well and get the most out of life.
As of mid-December 2014, 354 Mo Bros and Sistas (women who love a moustache and are committed to raising awareness and funds for men's health) in the Bay of Plenty had raised $35,000.
Tauranga urologist Andre Westenberg said Movember had "made a huge difference" to men's health awareness and "raised enormous funds" for the cause.
"But more importantly they've put it out in the open," he said.
Movember was "cool" among young men, aged between 24 and 45, who were most prone to testicular cancer but previously too embarrassed to consult their GP about a lump.
Now men were comfortable asking him questions about prostate and testicular cancer over a beer.
"That just never would have been a topic of conversation in the past," he said.
The most important things men could do for their health were exercise and eat well, he said. "Men are useless at looking after their health, it's true. Compared to women who will actually go and sort something out."
Mount Maunganui GP Tony Farrell said awareness around men's health was improving.
"I think men are presenting themselves more proactively. Men do come in for a check-up. We're seeing a lot more men bringing in their children for their health needs and that's lovely to see," he said.
Women were called to the doctor on a regular basis by contraception, smear tests and mammograms, which was not the case for men, he said.
Both doctors said a national screening programme for prostate cancer was unnecessary but testing should be a priority of those men over 50 or younger men with a family history of the disease.
Restaurants unite to raise mo' money
Fifteen staff across three Tauranga and Mount Maunganui restaurants are recently clean-shaven - ready to grow a mo this month.
The "Molords Incorporated" from Flying Burrito Brothers, The Barrio Brothers and Rye were aiming to raise awareness and funds for Movember which supported men's health research and survivorship programmes.
Co-owner Josh Fitzgerald said the restaurants would donate $1 for every glass and $4 for every bottle of Mills Reef wine sold during November and $2 from each "Mo-bros" Old Fashioned cocktail to the cause. Customers were also being encouraged to add a donation to their bill.
Mr Fitzgerald said men were notoriously bad at looking after their health.
"I definitely don't go to the doctor unless I'm close to being driven there by someone else," he said.
"You just don't until you're really sick. It's never preventative, it's always reactive."
During Movember anyone who comes into the restaurants "mo'd up" will also receive a small gift, he said.
Foods proven to reduce the risk of prostate cancer
* Watermelon
* Tomatoes
* Flaxseed oil
Top four health checks for men
* Regular skin checks
* Blood pressure and cholesterol
* Bowel cancer screen (if there is a family history)
* Prostate cancer check (starting at 40 for those with a family history and 50 for other men)
