Men — it’s time again to grow a mustache for your fellow man’s health: Movember 2024 has arrived!

City Dads Group and Fathering Together are joining forces with two other fatherhood organizations in November 2024 to form a “No Dad Alone” team to participate in Movember, a fund- and awareness-raising campaign to spark conversations about men’s physical and mental health issues.

Movember challenges dudes every November to grow a mustache that will serve as a living awareness ribbon and talking point for the cause. The funds raised during the campaign go for research into and public education on issues such as testicular cancer, prostate cancer, mental health and suicide.

The event is annually run by The Movember Foundation, a leading global organization that brings awareness to serious health concerns for men. It has raised hundreds of millions of dollars since its founding in 2003 to help fund hundreds of health projects globally, according to its website. The organization’s work hopes to counter some of these frightening statistics regarding men’s health:

• Testicular cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men ages 18 to 39.
• Men, on average, die five years earlier than women in the United States.
• One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lives.
• Four of every five suicides are men.

* Join our Movember 2024 #NoDadsAlone team! *

Movember 2024 finds City Dads and its partner, Fathering Together, teaming with The National At-Home Dad Network and Fathers Eve. In June, the groups agreed to join forces as part of a “No Dad Alone” campaign to amplify each other’s messages to help fathers recognize they have help and support in their parenting work.

City Dads has teamed with fatherhood organizations for Movember since 2011, helping to raise more than $135,000 for the cause.

You can help our Movember 2024 team and the cause in several ways:

• Join our Movember City Dads/Fathering Together team. Sign up at our fundraising page. You’ll get a personal fundraising page to link others to.
• Grow a mustache. Shave your face on Oct. 31 and then don’t cut the fuzz off your upper lip for 31 days. Show it off to all, in person and on social media, and tell them why you are growing it. Don’t forget to ask for a donation to help the cause and link to your fundraising page.
• Move rather than mo. Sometimes you can’t grow a mustache. Maybe it’s genetics, maybe it’s because it would jeopardize your marriage. You can still help by committing to walk or run 60 miles in November — one mile for each of the 60 men lost worldwide every hour to suicide. Again, use your personal Movember Dads page for fundraising.
• Host a Mo-ment. Get with your Movember supporters — in person or virtually — for a game night, a sporting event or maybe an initial “shave off” to get the ball rolling and draw attention to the cause.
• Donate. At the least, you can always simply give to the cause. Donate to an individual or our Movember #NoDadsAlone team as a whole.

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This blog post is part of the #NoDadAlone campaign. Fathering Together/City Dads Group, the National At-Home Dad Network, and Fathers Eve are joining forces to amplify messages that help dads recognize we are not alone! Follow #NoDadAlone on Instagram, and learn more at NoDadAlone.com.

Editor’s Note: Mental health issues are among the many things most people, men in particular, are reluctant to discuss. Former Boston Dads Group co-organizer James Mahaffey has no such fear. In this 2013 post from our archives, he writes frankly about the male postpartum depression he experienced following the birth of his daughter.

Once, possibly twice, during my first three months of parenthood, I found myself huddled in my home office, secretly and somewhat reluctantly shedding a tear in the dark. A very dignified and manly tear, that is. The kind that wells up and glosses over just the bottom half of the eye before stoically leaping like a cliff diver descending in a super quick, unquestionably deliberate, straight line down the cheek, never to be seen again.

This tear was brought on by a combination of things.

My newborn’s constant piercing screams.

The unexpected disagreements with her mother on what to do during those times.

My guilt for the occasional “bad” thought many parents have felt at some time but rarely admit.

I remember wondering if I was “depressed a little.” I had been feeling this way for longer than I cared to admit. It was a feeling I couldn’t seem to shake.

And, as a man, I didn’t necessarily know what to do except secretly cry in the dark.

It wasn’t until we were at the first post-birth checkup that I even thought about my manly tear incident again. Typically at this appointment, women fill out the Edinburgh Depression Scale to find out if they are experiencing “signs or symptoms associated with postpartum depression.” After reading the questions I started uncomfortably laughing. I began to feel like someone should be asking me the same questions.

I didn’t carry or give birth to a 7-pound human being. However, I have been there from day one and every day since our daughter was born. It’s not like the shrieks and cries of an inconsolable baby or the physically and emotionally draining late nights and resulting sleep deprivation were her mother’s to experience alone. I was up with her, helping out (and suffering just the same) as much as I could through all of those early tests of parenthood.

But maybe it wasn’t male postpartum depression I was experiencing. Maybe something else was going on inside of me. The first three months are one of those stages where I do believe certain mothers are better equipped than fathers to withstand the irritability of their newborn. CJ didn’t seem to be as emotionally affected as I was.

So when CJ was filling out the form, I made a column for myself next to her’s so I could also answer the questions. We went in and I, of course, made light of my little “cry for help” that manifested itself in the form of a drawn-in column on a post-partum questionnaire. She laughed a little, too. In fact, we all laughed and then we got back to focusing on CJ.

But should we have?

The issue is real. A 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that about 10 percent of fathers become depressed before or just after their baby is born. This is more than double the rate of depression in the general male population.

Men’s mental health is rarely discussed and is almost taboo in some scenarios. This is another reason why I grew a mustache in November to raise awareness and funds for the Movember movement. For two decades, the movement has raised funds and awareness to combat prostate and testicular cancer make people. In more recent years, Movember has added a special focus on mental health.

Please help others worse off than me. Raise awareness of paternal depression and keep an eye on your father friends, especially those with newborns. No dad needs to suffer in silence anymore.

About the author

After nearly being “shhh-ed” to death while his daughter napped, filmmaker James Mahaffey decided to vlog about his journey at “Becoming a Ninja: Freedom to Fatherhood,” where a version of this post originally appeared.

Male postpartum depression photo: © pololia / Adobe Stock.

April is Testicular Cancer Awareness month. And, the men’s health advocates of The Movember Foundation want guys to get to “Know Thy Nuts.”

About 70,000 men in the world annually receive a diagnosis of cancer of the testicles. According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s the most common cancer found in American males between ages 15 and 35.

The good news: It’s still fairly rare, making up only 1% of all male tumors. More good news: When discovered early on in a man, it is highly treatable and the survival rate is 95%. The bad news: Most of those guys most vulnerable to the disease don’t know how to check their boys downstairs.

Online tool to help Know Thy Nuts

The Movember Foundation, a leading global organization dedicated to bringing awareness to serious health concerns for men, has created the Nuts & Bolts online tool to help dudes learn the essentials about testicular cancer. This includes:

• how to check for and recognize changes in one’s testicles
• what to do if you do notice something odd down there
• other symptoms to watch for
• what to expect if you go to the doctor for a checkup down under
• a community Q&A to help take the fear and mystery out of receiving a diagnosis
• what a diagnosis means for your sex life and chances of fathering a child later on

The Nuts & Bolts tool can even hook you up with a testicular cancer survivor to help guide you through your own treatment and recovery if you are diagnosed.

The vast majority of guys won’t find something wrong with their testicles, The Movember Foundation notes. However, the campaign stresses it’s important for men to check down there regularly. According to their website, about 70 percent of men don’t regularly give themselves a feel down there to see if everything is in order.

City Dads Group has regularly supported The Movember Foundation on its mission to make men more aware of health issues specific to their gender, such as prostate cancer, mental health issues and suicide. This includes its signature event: the November growing of mustaches to raise awareness and money for research.

Possible testicular cancer risk factors

• Undescended testicles at birth.
• Being related to someone who’s had testicular cancer.
• Having had testicular cancer before.
• Race and ethnicity – risk is higher in the United States and Europe, and lower in Africa and Asia.
• Common symptoms: Lump or swelling in testicle area; dull ache in abdomen or groin

Want to help save a man’s life? Help us raise some cash by growing a ‘stache with our dads next month during Movember 2021.

City Dads Group again is seeking members and friends to help us support The Movember Foundation, a leading global organization dedicated to bringing awareness to serious health concerns for men such as testicular cancer, prostate cancer, mental health and suicide.

Movember challenges dudes every November to spark conversations about men’s physical and mental health issues. The growing of a mustache is meant to serve as a living awareness ribbon and talking point for the cause. In recent years, the Movember Foundation has also added an exercise challenge for the facial-hair challenged.

+ Join our Movember 2021 team +

The Movember Foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars since its founding in 2003 to help fund hundreds of health projects globally, according to its website. The organization’s work hopes to counter some of these frightening statistics regarding men’s health:

• Men, on average, die five years earlier than women in the United States.
• One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lives.
• Four of every five suicides are men.
• Testicular cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men ages 18 to 39.

City Dads Group is once again joining forces with the Life of Dad social network, the Dad 2.0 fatherhood conference and The National At-Home Dad Network to form a “Movember Dads” team. The group combined to raise more than $10,000 last year.

You can help our Movember 2021 team and the cause in several ways:

• Join the Movember Dads team. Sign up through our Movember Dads page. You’ll get your own personal fundraising page to link other to.
• Grow a mustache. Shave your mug on Oct. 31 and then don’t cut the fuzz off your upper lip for 31 days. Show it off to all, in person and on social media, and tell them why you are growing it. Don’t forget to ask for a donation to help the cause and link to your fundraising page.
• Move rather than mo. Sometime you just can’t grow a mustache. Maybe it’s genetics, maybe it’s because it would jeopardize your marriage. You can still help by committing to walk or run 60 miles in November — one mile for each of the 60 men lost worldwide every hour to suicide. Again, use your personal Movember Dads page for fundraising.
• Host a Mo-ment. Get with your Movember supporters — in person or virtually — for a game night, a sporting event or maybe an initial “shave off” to get the ball rolling and draw attention to the cause.
• Donate. At the least, you can always simply give to the cause. Donate to an individual or to our Movember Dads team as a whole.

City Dads Group, starting in 2011 with its founding NYC Dads chapter, has helped raise more than $133,000 to support the Movember Foundation and its partners.

Family Man, a new interactive online parenting strategies course, aims to help parents — especially fathers — receive the advice and instruction they are often reluctant to seek in real life.

The program has been designed by leading global child behavior experts with assistance from The Movember Foundation, the international organization known for rallying guys to grow mustaches every November to raise awareness about men’s health issues.

Family Man offers animated “choose-your-own-adventure” style episodes coaching dads through difficult parenting situations such as a battle at the dinner table or a public tantrum. Each episode takes less than 15 minutes to complete, and prompts users with different ways to respond to the situation. It then provides feedback on the chosen outcome that can be used when the situation arises in real life.

The foundation stresses Family Man is backed by evidence-based parenting strategies tested by researchers with hundreds of families. The program targets parents of children ages 2 to 8 but the advice can be useful for those with older children as well.

Here is a clever trailer for the program:

This interactive advice program may also prove helpful to future dads. Movember officials cite research that 70% of childhood behavior disorders are seen in boys. Receiving guidance from a male figure offers positive role modeling for when a boy becomes a dad later in life.

This is the Movember Foundation’s second online advice program launched in the past year. It released in July Movember Conversations, a tool to help men have difficult discussions with others struggling with a life issue.

The Movember Foundation raises awareness on men’s health issues such as testicular and prostate cancer, and mental health. Since 2003, it’s raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund men’s health projects, according to its website. City Dads Group has raised more than $130,000 to support the foundation and its partners over the years.

A leading global men’s health advocacy organization has launched an interactive online tool to give people the confidence to have difficult discussions with friends, family members and colleagues who may be struggling with a critical life issue.

Movember Conversations offers practical guidance on talking to those hurting because of job loss, social isolation and family pressure. Using multiple choice questions, the program guides the user through typical scenarios, teaching conversational prompts and responses that help to open a conversation and keep it flowing meaningfully. It uses simulated conversations to explore and practice how a person might navigate a difficult talk with someone. Movember Conversations also includes advice on how to be a good listener and how to create a setting of trust and openness.

The program, developed by mental health experts, comes from The Movember Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing awareness to men’s health issues such as testicular cancer, prostate cancer, mental health and suicide. Since its founding in 2003, the organization has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund more than 1,200 men’s health projects, according to its website. City Dads Group, starting with its founding NYC Dads Group outpost in 2011, has raised more than $120,000 in direct donations and sponsorship matches to support the Movember Foundation and its partners.

“In the world of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to stay connected and look out for each other. But it’s not always obvious how to do that,” the Movember Conversation page states. “Starting a conversation with a friend, partner or colleague who might be struggling can be hard; we often don’t know where to start or what to say – or we worry we’ll say the wrong things.”

Movember Conversations focuses only on three topics for now, but is expected to add many more in coming months.

Photos: Movember

When was the last time you had a meaningful, constructive conversation with a physician about your health? When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with ANYONE about your health?

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I want to live a long, healthy, happy life. Don’t you?

I want to stick around as long as I can for my family. I’m guessing you do, too.

So, hey, here’s an idea: Let’s take care of ourselves.

It really is that simple. And, it really is more complicated than that.

Here’s why it’s simple: You already know how to take care of yourself.

If not, look no further than the Movember Foundation, the worldwide men’s health initiative that turns every November into a mustache-fest. Here are five pieces of advice from Movember to help you take control of your physical and mental health and look after yourself:

• Check-in regularly with family and friends.
• Get moving.
• Talk about your health.
• Know your family medical history.
• If you notice something out of the ordinary, do something about it.

Simple, right? Common sense stuff.

Here’s why it can be more complicated to take control of your health than that: Failing to act on this common sense advice is how so many men fall short of being effective advocates for their own health.

We know what to do, but we don’t always do it.

“Men don’t talk, they don’t take action, and they die too young,” said Mark Hedstrom, director of Movember in the United States. “That’s really important to get out there. You have to be proactive, guys. You can’t sit back and wait for something bad to happen.”

You know this. You know that complacency kills. You know that when it comes to the leading causes of death among men – heart disease and cancer – steps for prevention and early detection could mean the difference between extended life and imminent death.

Yet, when was the last time you had a meaningful, constructive conversation with a physician about your health? When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with ANYONE about your health?

This isn’t about marching off to your physician for a physical and blood work. In fact, recent studies have actually begun to call into question the need for an annual physical if you’re asymptomatic. This remains controversial, so if you are looking for a way to start a health-related conversation with a physician, here’s one hell of an ice-breaker.

That aside, being your own healthcare advocate is also about common sense. It’s about paying attention to your body and mind so you know how to recognize if something is not quite right, and about knowing what questions to ask when do go to the doctor.

It’s about speaking up on your own behalf – and not just with your doctors. Talk about your health with friends and family members. You might think they’d rather not hear about it, that you’d be perceived as a complainer. Or you might be one of those guys who thinks the quiet, stoic approach is the path to manliness.

Well, forget that nonsense. Your friends and family members want a healthy you. When you talk about your physical, mental and emotional well-being, you take control of your health.

This is particularly true in the examination room.

While your doctors might ask surface questions about symptoms and recent medical history, they usually don’t spend time trying to drag potentially vital information out of you. They have other patients to see in a limited amount of time.

That’s why you should use the time wisely. Pleasantries about last night’s game or the latest episode of that TV show can break the ice. But after that? Get down to business.

“It’s a little bit of a challenge because there’s a preconceived notion among physicians that men don’t ask those questions,” Hedstrom said. “You really need to start asking that question: What does that test result mean? Do I need a colonoscopy? That sort of thing. Men taking action and having a conversation about their health is going to change that.”

You don’t need a medical degree to know what questions to ask. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality suggests, among others:

• What is this test for?
• What is my diagnosis?
• Why do I need this treatment?
• Are there any alternative treatments?
• What are the possible complications?
• Do I need to change my daily routine?

The answers will not always be definitive. Cancer, heart disease and other physical conditions don’t always lend themselves to certainty.

But you want to live a long, healthy, happy life, don’t you? I know I do.

So, take control of your health, men. Let’s figure out what we need to do to make sure we’re around for families as long as possible.

“That’s the most important thing,” said Movember’s Hedstrom. “It’s quite frankly why I show up to work every day.”

Photo: FreeImages.com/Adam Ciesielski

It’s Movember again, and City Dads Groups across the country again are supporting the campaign to bring awareness and funding to research and treatment of men’s health issues, both mental and physical.

Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas joins us on the Modern Dads Podcast to discuss suicide prevention and the Carson J. Spencer Foundation, on organization she co-founded after her brother took his own life in 2004. She talks about the suicide prevention programs they run to reach men in most need of support and least likely to seek it. She also talks about how dad communities like ours can be part of the solution.

** Listen to our suicide prevention podcast now **

The suicide rate increased 33 percent from 1999 through 2017, from 10.5 to 14 suicides per 100,000 people, according to the National Centers for Health Science. Rates have increased more sharply since 2006. Suicide ranks as the fourth leading cause of death for people ages 35 to 54, and the second for 10- to 34-year-olds. It remains the 10th leading cause of death overall.

Men of all ages are more likely than women to commit or attempt suicide with the likelihood of men committing suicide being close to four times more than that of women. Suicide rates in the US have been on a constant rise in the last thirty years. With 28.9 deaths per 100,000 people, Montana has the highest suicide rate in the US according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

White people in the US have recorded the highest rates of suicide at 14.7% followed by Native Americans at 10.9%, Hispanics at 6.3%, Asians, and Pacific Islanders at 5.9% with the lowest rates being among black Americans at 5.5%. Firearms are the most used methods in suicide with 49.9% of the deaths, followed by suffocation at 26.7%, and poisoning at 15.9% other methods contribute to 7.5% of the deaths. Due to the stigma associated with suicide, most of the cases go unreported. Suicide rates in the US have increased by 24% in last fifteen years from 10.5 to 13.0 persons in 100,000 persons.

You may also be interested in listening to these other Modern Dads Podcasts about Movember and men’s health issues:

• Dads Dealing with Depression
• A Focus on Men’s Health with Dr. Jed Diamond
• Refuel Your Manhood with Dr. John LaPuma

The first time I participated in Movember I had some interest in Men’s issues, but mostly I participated because it gave me a “legitimate” excuse to mess around with my facial hair. 4 years ago however Movember took on a more serious meaning for me. Men’s health was brought very close to home because, you see, my very good friend Zack died unexpectedly from complications from diabetes.

There wasn’t anything specifically important during that last drink at the bar, other than it was our last, we just didn’t know it.

Losing him had a serious impact on me; he had been one of a small group of friends that I had stayed in contact with since high school. I had a lot of good times with him. There have been quite a few times I have recalled the last time he and I were together. I have played the conversation in my head more times than I can even count. There wasn’t anything specifically important during that last drink at the bar, other than it was our last, we just didn’t know it. We were both so full of life,  so full of plans and so full of good intentions, we parted ways 100% sure we would be getting together again soon…He was aware of his condition, managing it better than he ever had in his life, and was really working on improving his overall health. His death was quite a surprise to all of us. To be honest some days I still can’t wrap my head around it.  Just a few days before he died I had been bantering with him on Facebook about the next time he and I would get together for a drink to catch up… a time it turned out that would never come.

Losing him was tough, but it has caused me to put more effort into the relationships that I have now that I really value. I don’t know if one more phone call, one more e-mail, or one more anything would have made a difference in the way Zack left me.  I doubt it would have. What I do know is that I would give just about anything for one more chance…

Another chance to sit down and have one more beer with him, to watch one more ballgame with him, to take one more trip to the lake, and/or hit the road for one more road trip.

There are so many “one mores” that I could list, and to me that is what Movember is about now, seizing as many of those “one mores” before they are no more.

Look around at the friends, fathers, sons, brothers, grandfathers, uncles, etc… in your life and imagine losing one of them because they were unaware of the men’s health resources that are available to them. Imagine losing one of them because they were unaware or uncomfortable to ask for help with their mental health issues.

Look around…how much would one more day with them be worth?

I want them to know that I am going to fight like hell to be around for as many of their “one mores” as I can.

You see I am a dad and I have two little boys. I have two little boys that I want to see grow into young men, good men, and even fathers if they choose to. I want them to know I take my physical and mental health seriously. I want them to know I take their physical and mental health seriously.  I want them to know they can always talk to me about anything.  I want them to know that I am going to fight like hell to be around for as many of their “one mores” as I can.So here I am on the dawn of my 7th Movember, there are people out there who have raised way, way more money than I can even imagine, but I’m still going to do it. There are people out there who have a much larger social reach who can raise so much more awareness than I can, but I am still going to talk about it.

Look around at these friends, these fathers, these sons, these brothers, these grandfathers, these uncles, these men in your life, if even one of them is participating in Movember this year tell them ‘thank you’, and ask them how you can support them. Let them know men’s health is important to you and that you are in to help us raise awareness and research for men’s health so that we might all enjoy a few “one mores”.

If you are interested City Dads Group is joining Life of Dad, The Dad 2.0 Summit, and The National At-Home-Dad Network in raising awareness for men’s health through a Movember Team.  If you’d like to support our effort you can join the team and/or donate here: moteam.co/movemberdads

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(This post originally appeared on The Good Men Project )

Editor’s Note: City Dads Group has again joined with The National At-Home Dad Network, Dad 2.0 Summit, the Life of Dad network and dad bloggers everywhere this month to raise money and awareness of men’s health issues through Movember. We do this by growing mustaches to serve as a living “ribbon” we wear with pride. Philly Dads Group co-organizer Chris Bernholdt writes about why he participates.

It comes in scraggly and multicolored. If it were part of a forest, it would be the sparsest in woods — the veritable Charlie Brown Christmas Tree of mustaches. I can go for days without anything of interest showing. You might even look at me and say, “There’s some dirt on your upper lip.”

My wife is not a fan of facial hair. Women live in one camp or the other, but never both. For the guys who have always had beards and mustaches, they can’t imagine themselves without one. For those of us who stay clean shaven, we wonder how they get past all the itching. Must be the beard oil. Yes. You heard me right. Guys are putting oil in their beards and mustaches to keep them tamer.

Behind every Mo is a reason to participate. My dad is a prostate cancer survivor. Through screening and early detection, they found it in its early stages and took it out.

Last year I made it my personal goal to raise as much money as was possible for Movember. I rapped with other dad bloggers (see video below) and raised $900 in my efforts to dedicate my donations to my father. Remembering what he went through has motivated me to educate and support the Movember Movement.

So men, put down your razors and join me this month and grow your own Dirt Squirrel.