A group of men will be trying to irreverently raise awareness and remove the stigma surrounding prostate and testicular cancer next month by encouraging individuals to speak up and share their thoughts and experiences.

Based in Toronto, the group and all others who sign up country-wide will celebrate throughout the month of November an event dubbed “Movember.” In this unique fundraiser, participants, also known as “Mo Bros” will grow their moustaches for the entire month of November and raise pledges for their efforts. Once registered, each Mo Bro must begin the “first of Movember” with a clean shaven face. Proceeds will support Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital(PMH)cancer centre.

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related death among Canadian men. However, early detection is the best way to a speedy recovery with fewer complications.

“Prevention and early detection of both testicular and prostate are of paramount importance,” said Dr. Padraig Warde, radiation oncologist at PMH and chair of the Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Initiative. “The number of patients diagnosed with these cancers in Canada is rising at a rapid rate.”

Movember originated in Sydney, Australia, and uses the symbolic “masculine moustache” as a focal point for fundraising.

Movember is open to all men across Canada and those interested in “growing their mo’” for a good cause can find out more at www.movember.ca.

Corporate

The Centre for Healthcare Innovation & Improvement at the Child & Family Research Institute, and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia, have received $500,000 over two years from Eli Lilly Canada for a Genome Canada/Genome BC-sponsored research program(see photo above). The project, Genotype-Specific Approaches to Therapy in Childhood(GATC)is a British Columbia-led national strategy to improve drug safety for children. The study aims to prevent adverse drug reactions in childhood by identifying predictive genomic markers for specific adverse drug reactions. The study is led by two research centres within the Child & Family Research Institute at B.C. Children’s Hospital. Dr. Bruce Carleton from the Centre for Healthcare Innovation & Improvement is a worldwide leader in drug safety research. Dr. Michael Hayden, the director of the Centre for Molecular Medicine & Therapeutics, is an internationally recognized expert in pharmacogenomics. In addition to Eli Lilly Canada, other major contributors include the Canadian Genetic Disease Network, Provincial Health Services Authority, UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Child & Family Research Institute and Pfizer Canada.

Send your Updating items to Rick Campbell at rick.campbell@medicalpost.rogers.com.