KEY POINTS:
Welcome to the month of Movember - and more importantly, welcome to an initiative that encourages men to take responsibility for their health.
For years, women have been proactive in demanding their share of precious health resources. There is only so much money to go around, and with the advances being made in medicine and the increased longevity of the general population, there's more demand than supply.
Consequently, health care is prioritised, and once those in urgent need are taken care of, it's the old maxim: the squeaky wheel gets the most oil. And over the last 30 years, women have mastered the art of spectacular squeaking.
We have breast screening programmes, cervical cancer programmes and lobby groups charged with ensuring that women get their fair share - some would argue more than their fair share - of the health pie. The demand for Herceptin, a breast cancer fighting drug, to be funded through Pharmac has, to date, been unsuccessful - but the smart money would be on the Herceptin lobby group eventually triumphing over Pharmac.
There are also fabulous initiatives like Look Good, Feel Better, and organisations dedicated to raising money to investigate the cause of breast cancer - the list is endless. Pink ribbons are as de rigueur during October as Anzac poppies are in April, and many a glittering function has been held to support the cause of women's health. The Sky Tower is suffused with pink every October in a worldwide illumination project designed to raise awareness of breast cancer, and big businesses know that getting behind a worthy cause makes them good corporate citizens.
All the makeup companies have women's health initiatives that they support. Just this month, Nokia launched a range of little pink cellphones in Trelise Cooper designed holders, with part of the purchase cost going to the Breast Cancer Research Trust. All of these marvellous awareness campaigns, money-making extravaganzas and screening programmes come about because women organise themselves and make them happen. It takes energy, time and self-sacrifice, but there are hundreds of thousands of women benefiting from the hard work and dedication of a few good souls.
So what about our men? Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men and the third biggest cancer killer. It has been a silent killer, in part because of the nature of the disease, and in part because so many men of a certain generation would rather die than have some bloke stick a finger up their bums.
And so they do die. In their hundreds. And it is not just prostate cancer that men ignore. They've been known to put up with the annoying and unpleasant symptoms of rampant bowel cancer until such time as they're dragged, kicking and screaming, into a doctor's surgery by their terrified wives. And for many, it is too late.
Retirement plans are exchanged for funeral plans; young women are walked down the aisle by their widowed mothers, and far too many children are growing up without grandfathers.
Sure, prostates aren't as out there or as accessible as breasts, but neither are cervixes, and they get column inches of attention.
So good on the team behind Movember - a month where those who can will grow sponsored moustaches to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand. The Mo Bros unveil their face fur at gala dinners at the end of the month, and one lucky man in a Mo Bro Showdown will be named the man of Movember.
Women can do their bit by sponsoring a man to grow a mo, and once we've signed up, we become Mo Sisters. We can also help by encouraging the men we love to get thorough warrants of fitness at the local GP.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
