30 days of Movember

I look ridiculous. It itches, and the majority of the comments I've received can't be repeated here. Nevertheless, I've survived 30 days of Movember; summed up in this video:

And all for a good cause. In 2012 alone, over 307,000 people were estimated to have died from prostate cancer. 30 die a day in the UK alone. Whereas the main risk factor for prostate cancer is age, testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 25-49 in the UK. Luckily, cure rates are far higher with this form. Regardless, there is still far more that can be done. Please support this good cause on my Movember page here. Thank you to everyone that's done so already.

If you're interested, more cancer stats and info can be found on CRUK's webpage here.

Week 2

Still growing...

Please don't forget to donate here: MOBRO.CO/TIMWITNEY

1 week in...

Thanks to everyone who's donated so far. We've raised $161 already (!) and I haven't even really grown anything yet. It's only going to get worse as well. Facial hair really doesn't suit me, so the worse I look, the more you should donate! Please carry on supporting this great cause (prostate cancer, not my face). Thanks so much!

1 week and it's starting to grow...

Movember

This year I've decided to take part in Movember. For those still on dial-up, Movember is the annual ritual of growing a mustache over the 30 days of November. The idea is to try and raise funds and awareness of the issues surrounding prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's mental health. In the imaging world, prostate cancer is a difficult one. We just don't have the right tools for the job. Whilst most men will die with, rather than of prostate cancer, there is a small, but significant proportion of aggressive prostate cancer that requires urgent treatment. The problem is knowing what type of prostate cancer you have. The solution is to remove the cancer by surgery - but this comes with major risk of damaging the near-by nerves, which can result in erectile disfunction and incontinence. So we don't want to remove all prostate cancers that are diagnosed. Imaging could play a great role in distinguishing the nasty from the not-so-nasty cancer. I hope we will have some success in developing such a test in my lifetime, but these things are harder to do in practise and the research is costly. So I'm going to look stupid for a month and talk to people I don't know about why we should be botherd about prostate cancer. And if you are bothered too, please donate on my Movember page here! They are already funding some great research by my fellow imaging scientists over at John's Hopkins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVWh2eHNSzo. Thanks.

Me. Day 1: 1st November 2014.