'Keep those conversations going': Movember campaign kicks off in support of men's health

It's Movember time Movember ambassador Mike Milloy joins us to chat about the annual fundraiser and awareness campaign for men's health.

Men across the world are participating in Movember, a campaign that raises money and awareness for men's health.

During the month of November, men are asked to grow and groom a moustache to start conversations about prostate and testicular cancers, as well as mental health.

The event started in Australia in 2003 and other countries, including Canada in 2007, joined over time.

To date, the campaign has raised millions of dollars to help men stay healthy.

Mike Milloy, a Movember champion, has been taking part in the campaign since it started in Canada. He said he first heard about it from a friend in Australia.

"She had heard about it when it had first started and said, 'You should get on this. This is really good.' And then I learned more about it and more about how it was benefiting men's health and how there weren't a lot of men's health charities out there, so I thought, this is a great thing," said Milloy.

"And then, the more I got involved in it, the more I realized how many families and how many people's lives these causes touch. So, every year it becomes a more and more worthwhile cause to be involved with."

Milloy believes the campaign has opened new doors for men to feel more comfortable talking about their health.

"I think one of the things that Movember wants to do is start conversations, so destigmatize the idea of your own health, whether that's your physical health or your mental health," he said. "Encouraging men to take care of their bodies, and when something's not feeling right or not looking right, to take action there and not feel bad about it, and not try to just tough it out."

People can take part in the campaign in different ways. Milloy suggests visiting the Movember website and signing up.

"You can choose to grow a moustache, you can choose to incorporate daily activity into your lifestyle, you can host a 'mo-ment' and get those conversations started, or you can kind of 'mow' your own way and take whatever it is that you do best and do that," said Milloy. "You know, keep those conversations going and get some fundraising going on."

Since 2003, the campaign has funded more than 1,200 men's health projects, including for mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

Milloy says the mental health aspect is a key factor in the campaign.

"The more we can recognize that mental health is an issue in our daily lives, whether that's poor mental health or good mental health, the more we can understand when things change," he said.

More information on the Movember campaign can be found online.