The level of support for Movember 2012 on Locoyard has been beyond all that I imagined and every entry has been fantastic.  All of you who contributed should know that during Movember 2012; there have been 9,600 hits (and still counting!)  This means that there were more than 9,600 times when people were reminded about Movember; the movement that raises awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.

Prostate cancer affects 1 in 9 of men in the UK – it is the most common form of cancer in men. In 2010 40,841 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer.  Current survival rates are around 81% – this rate was just 31% at the beginning of the 1970’s.  A very significant reason for this marked improvement is early treatment.

In 2009, testicular cancer affected 2,209 men in England and Wales of whom 97% survived.  In the early 1970’s; 69% of men survived and again, a significant reason for this difference is awareness of the early signs that make treatment so much easier and successful.

Whenever there is a competition and the runner of the competition announces that everyone is a winner, people often find it very frustrating!  But in this case it is so true.  Every single one of you who submitted a competition entry, those who helped behind the scenes to promote it and spread the word – all of you who helped make this Movember on Locoyard such an exciting time; are winners.  You all contributed to nearly ten thousand instances when people were reminded about men’s cancer.  With some 43,000 men diagnosed with prostate or testicular cancer each year in England and Wales alone, this has got to be something you can all be proud of and something you can all go away from feeling like winners.  As this is exactly what you are!

To view all the fantastic Movember entries; take a look at the Movember 2012 web page (click here to view).  I also urge you to visit uk.movember.com to find out more about the cause and to donate if you can.

Many thanks for all the support, Locoyard followers 🙂  P.S. do not forget that now that Movember has ended, it is time to remove those mustaches!  As you can see below, Thomas has just been brought into locoyard for a shave!  Tomorrow morning will see the first advent calendar blog post and also remember that there is a new Christmas photo competition that you can enter.  Click here for more details!