Nanook Hockey Players Sporting Moustaches, Supporting "Movember"

Several of the Alaska Nanook hockey players have joined together to participate in "Movember" to help raise awareness and funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG.

The Mo, slang for moustache, and November come together each year for Movember.

Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men. Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.

The funds raised through Movember’s US campaign benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The PCF uses the money raised by Movember to fund research that is accelerating the discovery of better treatments and ultimately finding a cure for prostate cancer. One such program is the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center’s research, which has recently made a significant breakthrough. They identified 24 different kinds of prostate cancer and how aggressive each is. This should enable scientists to soon be able to answer the agonizing question facing men with prostate cancer: does their cancer need immediate treatment, and if so what is the best treatment, or can it be left alone?

LIVESTRONG uses the money raised by Movember to fund important programs to support young adults and their families battling and surviving cancer. These programs include:

• Fertile Hope, an initiative dedicated to providing reproductive information, support and hope to cancer patients and survivors whose medical treatments present the risk of infertility.

• My Planet, an online community of peer support that allows young adults to find and communicate with other young adults whose lives have been affected by cancer.

• Continuing Nursing Education program on Young Adult Cancer Survivorship. LIVESTRONG encourage nurses to know the warning signs of cancer, understand what types of cancer for which young adults may be at risk, and learn about cancer screening.

The Nanooks' Movember team includes:

Volunteer Assistant Coach Ryan Reinheller
Forwards: Ron Meyers, Jarrett Granberg, and Justin Filzen
Defensemen: Bryant Molle and Scott Enders
Goalie: Steve Thompson

Check out their team page at: http://us.movember.com/mospace/1174546/index/tp/2