Movember – time to remember that a simple blood test could save your life

Movember is upon us once again and a time when guys get up to all sorts of antics to promote it like Jon Montgomery for instance. He’s a Canadian Olympian and television host who sent his moustache on a solo mission into space to kick off the start of Movember. 

A Canadian broadcaster reported that Montgomery took one small step for man and one giant leap for men’s health by sending his moustache into space when he launched his whiskers to the edge of the stratosphere as part of the annual month-long campaign. 

“If you’re going to raise funds and awareness you might as well have fun with it,” he said. Montgomery’s moustache was sealed in an acrylic case and sent on its way. It was a “no brainer,” he said, since his dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and was successfully treated for it.

So, what exactly is Movember? The Movember Foundation explains that this annual global campaign encourages men to grow moustaches and participate in various activities to raise awareness about men’s health issues.

The month-long event focuses on promoting physical and mental well-being among men, addressing issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health challenges, and suicide prevention.

While there is a fun side to the campaign, Movember also provides a platform for men to discuss their health openly, seek support, and take proactive steps towards a healthier and happier life.

It aims to challenge the stigma around men’s health issues, spark conversations, and promote early detection and intervention.

It all started in Australia twenty years ago when a group of friends decided to grow moustaches to raise awareness about prostate cancer and depression in men. It has since evolved into a global movement with millions of participants and supporters and has funded numerous men’s health projects and initiatives and has become a symbol of solidarity and awareness.

Let’s face it, (no pun intended), men are notoriously bad at dealing with medical issues and we are even worse at talking about them which is completely stupid because ignoring a potential illness will only complicate any possible medical intervention.

That’s why I’m taking this opportunity to beat the awareness drum again. Modern medicine is advancing all the time and these days a simple blood test can tell us so much about the current state of our health that it makes no sense not to have one on a regular basis.

Many of us avoid it because we fear a blood test might reveal something unpleasant. It might indicate that there is something wrong with us, which of course it might. So rather than take that chance, we pretend there’s nothing wrong and carry on.

But surely, it’s better to make that discovery early so it can be dealt with rather than living in ignorance until it’s too late. Especially now as results from blood tests are becoming more sophisticated and in time, they may even be able to warn us about potential dangers coming down the track.

I came across an article in The Sunday Times recently that said a simple blood test could one day forecast the likelihood of contracting more than 60 conditions as much as a decade in advance.

This means that patients could be diagnosed sooner if they do contract a disease and many more could be alerted that they were at risk. They could then be offered advice on how to alter their lifestyle to lower the risk.

That sounds very promising, but it is very much at the discovery stage. In the meantime, another article in the same newspaper, stated that a coalition of Britain’s leading prostate cancer specialists have called for GPs to start proactively offering high-risk men, blood tests that can help detect the disease.

The simple test measures levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein which can be elevated in men with prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with 52,000 cases and 12,000 deaths each year in the UK and according to the Irish Cancer Society, almost 4,000 men are diagnosed with it each year in this country. Early detection is vital in the treatment of the disease and the PSA blood test can be used alongside other measures to detect early signs.

The use of PSA tests is controversial in medicine, as they have historically been seen as too unreliable and flawed to be rolled out as a routine screening tool, as three quarters of men with a raised PSA do not have cancer, and 1 in 7 men who do have cancer will have a normal PSA result.

However, a new paper argues that improvements in technology mean the balance has now tipped in favour of offering some men blood tests, as those with raised levels will be sent for accurate MRI scans to confirm a diagnosis and to determine whether treatment is necessary.

It says GPs should “proactively discuss” the PSA blood test with men over the age of 45, and with men who have a family history of prostate cancer. All men over 50 should feel empowered to request a PSA test, it says.

Speaking from experience, I would encourage all men, regardless of age, to have a discussion with their GP about prostate cancer as soon as possible. Especially if there is a history of it in the family. Don’t wait for symptoms because they might never appear and don’t wait until you reach the age of fifty either.

Early detection is vital in the treatment of this disease and a simple blood test is one of the tools they use to find it. It just takes a few minutes out of your day to give a blood sample, but it could add years to your life in the long run.