Movember 2012

[chonax]

Gentlemen!

I don't think there is a thread for this year's Movember yet. If there is, kindly let me know and I'll correct the matter.

That said, I'm really happy to be participating for the first time this year. And to celebrate the occasion, about week ago I ditched my old Gillette Fusion vibrating piece of junk and traded it in for my first straight edge. I purchased a SR kit from SRD with the Dovo Best Quality 5/8. I have also since purchased a Merkur 34C which I also love shaving with.

Why am I doing Movember? Well for me it's because of a small cancer scare I had a few years back. I want to tell you my tale because hopefully it might help someone.

(Hopefully this tale isn't too graphic, we're all adult men here)...

Two years ago, when I was 37, I noticed one day that there was some blood on the toilet paper. It was a darker maroon color, not the red you would expect from hemorrhoids. It was only a little, so I didn't pay much attention to it. Then I saw it a second time the next day, and realized that the darker color probably meant something not cool was going on.

I did some internet research (yeah I know) and found a website that said there are generally three shades of red that blood in the stool could be.
1) Bright Red - This is usually caused by hemorrhoids or irritation of the skin.
2) Very Dark or Black - This is usually caused by a peptic ulcer (stomach/duodenum)
3) Maroon - Usually a symptom of a "colorectal adenoma". Upon further research I discovered that people who say "adenoma" a lot also say "cancer" a lot.

Well when I saw that, I kinda had a "holy crap" moment. Yes, there are other causes, and I felt that I was too young think that cancer could be a threat. But I told my girlfriend about it, and she and I decided together that I should not roll the dice. So I scheduled a colonoscopy 3 years before I normally would have (40).

Well, I went in for the procedure, (which was nothing compared to the preparation for the procedure!), and when I woke up afterwards, the nurse on hand said, and I quote:

"It's a good thing you came in".

The doctor came in a few moments later, repeating the nurses statement. Apparently I had NINE polyps in my colon, one of them was very large and indeed pre-cancerous. He told me that he had gone and removed all of them cleanly, and that the procedure was a success.

I went back for an annual followup and was in the clear. My next appointment is this summer when I turn 40.

I have also quit smoking, which I did for a regrettable 22 years.

So yeah, Movember is about killer moustaches, but also about men's health. Guys, go and get a checkup, and if you suspect something may be not quite right, don't hesitate to have a doctor check it out.

And grow a stache!

If you'd like to donate to men's charities in my name, or even just post a comment of support, you can do it through my Mo Space:

MoBro.co/robc43

Oh and if this thread stays, I'll be posting pics of my stache here. I hope you will too. I'm still not sure what kind of stache I would do. While I like the occasional handlebar, I will probably end up paying homage to my late grandfather Zbigniew, who had a real fat eastern-european Tom Selleck almost his entire life.

Thank you sirs.
rob