To Donate
To donate to the Wild Weill Cornell Mos Movember team, visit http://us.movember.com/team/1088517
Members of the Wild Weill Cornell Mos Movember team on Nov. 1, the first day of growth.
'Twas the first Thanksgiving with his family, and there was something growing on his face.
The space between his nose and upper lip had gone prickly, brown hairs dancing with every facial gesture. It felt weird, he said. He was a little embarrassed. He felt the need to explain, especially to his future in-laws.
And with Movember, he said, that was precisely the point.
It was four years ago when Orrin Pail, now a second-year medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College, first ditched his razor for the month of November to sprout a mustache to raise awareness and money for men's health. He's grown a 'stache those same 30 days ever since, joining a burgeoning movement that has energized Weill Cornell and the nearly 950,000 participants around the world who raise funds over the course of the month with their facial hair. Proceeds benefit health programs that combat prostate and testicular cancer.
"It's hard. It's embarrassing, but that's the point," said Pail, 28 of Queens. "You look and you feel different."
At Weill Cornell, more than 60 men and women — faculty, students and staff — have joined in, supporting the medical college's official Movember team led by oncologist Dr. Himisha Beltran. While the men have been sporting their new facial dos, the women have been keeping them motivated.
"I take care of prostate cancer patients, and I think for them this is very empowering," said Dr. Beltran, assistant professor of medicine and of medicine in urology, who sported a black stick-on 'stache during her team's final reveal on Monday. "These mustaches are really raising a lot of awareness, not just for prostate cancer but for men's health, and creating a team effort."
Members of the Wild Weill Cornell Mos Movember team for the final reveal on Nov. 25
Movember face fuzz has tickled men's faces at Weill Cornell for the past four years or so, but the 2012 team had the honorable distinction of coming in third place in the medical school category, raising about $8,000. This year, Weill Cornell participants have their eyes on the grand prize. As of Nov. 26, the team has raised $6,949.
Weill Cornell's participation is important, says prostate cancer expert Dr. Mark Rubin, since the medical college may directly benefit from Movember's fundraising efforts.
"Especially when research funding is so difficult, we are raising awareness that there are many ways to generate funds for research, including grassroots activities," said Dr. Rubin, director of the Institute for Precision Medicine, vice chairman for experimental pathology, director of translational research laboratory services and the Homer T. Hirst III Professor in Oncology in Pathology, whose lab has joined in for Movember.
For Pail, who's rounded up dozens of student participants, the social movement is just as fun as the cause itself.
"Social movements inspire people," he said. "If you can connect people to the social aspect of a movement, you can get them really excited."