Beyond Movember
By Chen Ximeng
Source: Global Times
Published: 2015-11-10 20:23:01
Raising awareness of men’s
health
Movember, a global charity campaign focusing on
men's health, has not received much support on the Chinese
mainland.
Every year, November is a special month for
41-year-old Robin Huang, who works in the financial industry in
Hong Kong. On the first day of this month, he shaves off all of his
facial hair, and grows a mustache until the last day of the month.
Though wearing mustache for a whole month might be a bit
inconvenient for him, he thinks it is worthwhile to do so as part
of the global Movember event.
Since it was first launched in 2003, Movember, a
global men's health charity, calls on men (called Mo Bros) to grow
a mustache for a month to raise money for men's health charities.
Women (also called Mo Sistas) can also play their part by wearing a
fake mustache. The four main health focuses of Movember are
prostate cancer, testicular cancer, poor mental health and physical
inactivity.
According to the Movember Foundation, it has not
received much feedback from the Chinese mainland.
The latest statistics show that there were only
55 registered Chinese mainlanders, and in Hong Kong, there were
1,285 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas registered by the morning of November
10. The level of participation is far from enough to influence the
huge population of men in the country.
Doctors
interviewed by Metropolitan pointed out that the awareness of men's
health in China is still low, and more is needed to
do to improve the
situation.
Experts
say that many Chinese people have a poor awareness of men's health,
and advise that they get regular health examinations, and live a
healthy lifestyle without smoking, drinking or eating unhealthy
food.
Movember
not catching on
Huang
said as far as he knows, in foreign countries, employers will call
on their employees to join in the event. Wanting to make more
Chinese mainlanders to join in and raise their awareness of men's
health, he posted an article about Movember on an app called Veg
Street.
Since the
app attracts lots of people who eat a vegetarian diet and maintain
a healthy lifestyle, he thought he would get lots of followers.
However, not much feedback was received.
Some
people who read the article contacted him to ask more about
Movember, but few have the guts to try it.
"In fact,
there is not much of a culture of wearing mustaches for most
Chinese men, but this is not the main obstacle for people to
participate because if you do not wear mustache, you could even
wear fake one like Mo Sistas," said Huang.
"I think
besides the fact that there is no official launch of the event in
Chinese mainland, a major reason that it did not receive much
feedback is that the culture of being open with men's health
problems is still quite lacking here."
Huang
said due to lack of attention to health, many of his colleagues or
friends have high blood pressure or other illnesses even though
they are only in their 30s or 40s.
Zhang Lei
(pseudonym), a 32-year-old project manager in an IT company,
underwent a difficult time with his health two years ago. Almost
every day, he felt very tired,
became angry easily, and
could not sleep well.
Zhang recalled that at the beginning, he did not
think it was a very big problem. But things did not get better. His
wife then persuaded him to go to the hospital.
Zhang said it is very hard to share with others
his concern over his health problem. "If I have any problems, I
will not let others know except for my family because I will feel
embarrassed."
Zhang did not take part in Movember as he did
not know there is such an event in Chinese mainland. His friends
and colleagues also did not know about it, he said.
"If there are many Chinese participating, I may
know it and join in. I think some celebrities or public figures
should first do it as an example so that it could have a greater
influence."
National
Men's Health Awareness Day
Wang Bin, an andrologist at Dongzhimen Hospital,
said he has met many male patients who only go to the hospital
under pressure from their family members.
"Compared with Western countries, Chinese men
have a poorer consciousness and understanding of their own health,"
said Wang.
"The consultation rate of those who suffer from
andrological diseases is relatively low. A very popular idea among
Chinese men is that they are strong when they are young, so they
tend to endure it when illness comes."
There is a trend of young and middle-aged men
getting lymph cancer, and the death rate is increasing, Ding
Jiahua, director of the department of hematology at Zhongda
Hospital affiliated with Southeast University in Nanjing, Jiangsu
Province, was quoted as saying by the Jinling Evening News in
August.
Zhang Weijia, 32, a
software designer from Mianyang, Sichuan Province, was diagnosed
with terminal stage lymph cancer two years ago.
Before he got cancer, he did not pay much
attention to men's health issues, including the annual Men's Health
Awareness Day which falls on October 28.
Many people do not know Men's Health Awareness
Day.
The government and medical associations pay more
attention to men's sexual health, such as prostate disease, said
Zhang Weijia, adding that more diseases, such as lymph cancer,
should be put on the agenda for discussion and
communication.
Guo Jun, an andrologist at Xiyuan Hospital, said
that since Men's Health Awareness Day was launched 16 years ago,
the theme has not changed much, with a focus on men's sexual health
while ignoring other diverse aspects of men's health, including
mental health and lymph cancer. These ailments are also very common
and have a high morbidity rate in men. "Besides, it only lasts for
one day. After it, all the campaigns and education are just like a
wind, gone without leaving much impression. It is more a formality
than practical."
Getting moving
Zhang Lei has been concerned about himself after
being diagnosed as at risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
"Many people begin to realize that health is very important only
after they are attacked by illness, but this is not the right
approach," said Zhang Lei, who hopes more men, especially
celebrities, would stand up and share their stories about their
illness and recovery, combined with commentary from
specialists.
He hopes this could help form a culture of being
open to all kinds of men's illnesses. "Like Angelina Jolie, who
underwent a double mastectomy in 2013, which focused public
attention on breast cancer."
"A Men's Health
Awareness Day is far from enough for improving people's
concern over men's health. The campaigns and efforts
should be done at ordinary times," said Wang, who is also cofounder
of "Qihuang Andrology," an online platform that collects national
patients and specialists who are concerned about men's
health.
Wang said
the platform plans to launch a "Blue Handkerchief" event in the
near future focused on men's health, as a counterpart to the "Pink
Ribbon" campaign that focuses on breast cancer.
"Our
tentative plan is to launch it every October, for a whole month.
Every year, there will be a different theme to focus on, such as
testicular cancer. Some celebrities will be invited as the
spokespeople, and specialists will also be involved in the
educational campaigns."
Huang
said authorities in China could take the example of Movember to
launch events which could really get everyone
involved.
"The
month of Movember allows men to engage in their health in a way
that is fun. It allows them to share and hear other people's
stories, gives them confidence and let them know how to take action
if needed," said Bella Hinde, spokesperson with the Movember
Foundation.
Hinde
added that from their own research, the number of men talking about
their health and visiting a doctor increases worldwide during the
month of Movember.
Zhang Lei
said he hopes Movember will launch in Chinese mainland. "Then I
will participate and also call on others to, as a way to raise the
awareness to men's health."
Posted in: Metro
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