Charleston, S.C. -

 

There's now a way to change the face of men's health by turning November into "Movember." All this month the mustache is making a comeback to promote prostate cancer awareness.

It's a silent killer, often striking without symptoms.

"My problem, I never went to the doctor a lot," said 56 years-old Wayne Cory. 

He never thought about prostate cancer, until he was diagnosed. A month later, he's having it removed.

"It's amazing and how many people don't go and get tested. A simple blood test, there's no reason why you shouldn't." Cory said.

Reverend Glenn Davis just finished ten months of radiation. Surreal is a good word to use.

He routinely saw doctors, though his last screening was not alarming, further review found an extremely aggressive form of the disease.

"I mean it really was scary, just thinking about if it was in your bone you faced a much bleaker future," said Davis.

In the U.S. one in six men develop the disease every year. African American men are at greater risk, as are those with a family history. Screening should start around age 45.

"These are tumors that are small, they don't press on other organs so they don't cause symptoms the patients would know about," said Dr. Marshall Wingo, a Urologist.

The seriousness of the disease is now in the spotlight.

"Every time I look in the mirror I'm like wow, I have a mustache," said Matt Brown.

He and about 50 of his Benefit Focus co-workers are sporting the stache as part of a month long movement called "Movember." A way for men to drum up conversation about a disease often overlooked.

"For men, for something as common as prostate cancer, I feel like it is something that needs to be pushed forward," said Jason Eary, another participant.

A simple message straight from a survivor. "It's never going to happen to me, but guess what, it can. It can happen to everybody," said Davis.

Physicians praise proactive campaigns like Movember, all because of the awareness factor. Prostate cancer is 90 percent curable if treated and detected early. Around 190,000 cases of prostate cancer are treated every year.