It’s Movember and soon men everywhere will emerge from their homes, cars, the gym and offices sporting moustaches. Wives and girlfriends will cringe as their partners sprout varying degrees of hair on their top lips. While everyone knows its prostate cancer awareness month, not everyone knows the statistics and symptoms of this increasingly common disease, and who is at risk.
According to the Movember Foundation, 1 in 6 South African men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, and 4 300 South African men are diagnosed with cancer every year. According to CEO of FMI, Brad Toerien, the number of claims for this horrible disease has increased over the years with statistics also showing that prostate cancer is more prevalent in countries where the staple diet is meat and dairy products than those where the staple diet consists of rice, soybean products and vegetables.
“As an insurer that has been in the business for 21 years when it comes to life insurance, we are privy to a lot of important and insightful information that can help us create products that will genuinely help our customers. We believe that this goes beyond just selling people a product, but includes sharing information about preventative measures and creating general awareness of how to identify symptoms for early diagnosis. After all, things like prostate cancer are easily curable if detected early. During the month of November we’d like to encourage all men to not only ‘grow your mo’ to create awareness, but to also start living a more healthy lifestyle in order to avoid contracting prostate cancer.” stated Toerien.
The risk of Prostate Cancer increases with age, with 97% occurring in men over 50. Men who have a history of prostate cancer in their family are especially at risk, particularly if there are multiple incidences or the diagnoses were made before the age of 65.
Toerien adds, “With Prostate Cancer being the most common male cancer, an important consideration is the type of Critical Illness Cover you have. In the case of a positive diagnosis, you want to make sure you’re looked after and your bills are paid while you focus on getting better. FMI’s recently-launched Critical Illness cover has a number of unique benefits which have improved the quality and breadth of cancer cover in three key areas, one of which is increased pay-outs for prostate cancers.”
FMI also hosted a ‘MOmentous Men’s Breakfast’ on Friday the 18th of November at the Redlands Hotel in Pietermaritzburg. In light of Mens’ Cancer Awareness Month, a testicular cancer survivor also shared his triumphant story. The breakfast highlighted topics such as dealing with diagnosis, the emotional and logistical impacts faced by those affected, as well as the financial impact. Some members from the Movember Foundation spoke about early detection, warnings signs and dealing with testicular cancer.
FMI is an established financial service provider that takes pride in creating life insurance products that are based on real insights from real people. FMI staff strive to look after their clients, rather then just cover them.
The company has launched a ‘Grow Your Mo’ competition via their Facebook page which appeals to men to enter the competition and for every moustache grown and kept over the month of November, FMI will be donating R50 per person to Men’s Cancer Research. Visit www.facebook.com/FMIDBN or email gracew@fmi.co.za to enter.
