Sweet Stache! Firefighters join “Movember” movement

Nick Stekl and Jed Morrissey are rocking more face fuzz than usual.

They didn’t just forget to shave this month; their staches serve a higher purpose  – raising awareness for men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

November is also “Movember,” a movement of growing facial hair that originated in Australia where a mustache is a “mo.” Essentially the mustaches turn the Haddam firefighters into walking billboards for prostate health, and the pair have been working to raise funds for the charity Movember and Sons.

“What’s not to like? Mustaches are cool and it’s a great cause,” Morrissey said.

Men tend to take a “wait and see” approach to personal health. The default plan is to ignore something minor until it turns into something major, especially for something so – uh – private. But ignoring it won’t help the 242,000 men who will get prostate cancer this year.

Here are the basics. Prostate cancer starts in the prostate gland. The prostate is a small, walnut-sized structure that makes up part of a man’s reproductive system. It wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body.

It’s not a comfortable topic but the answer to this problem is simple – get screened for prostate cancer or do a self-check before it’s too late.

After all, knowledge is power and mustache is king.

It’s as plain as the hair on their faces.

Click here for information on Movember and search for Nick and Jed’s donation pages. For more about prostate cancer, visit the American Cancer Society’s website here.