Saskatoon men are getting ready to let the hair on their faces grow long, in the name of cancer research.

The city's first Manuary fundraiser kicks off Saturday evening at Tommy Gunn's barbershop. The month-long January fundraiser began in London, Ont. in 2009, to raise awareness and funds for head and neck cancers. The event has since spread to Edmonton, Kingston and Halifax.

"A few head and neck surgeons were sitting around in London one day and they realized how effective Movember has been," Saskatoon organizer and head and neck surgeon Dr. Rick Jaggi said.

November's moustache growing month raised $33.9 million in 2013, while October's breast cancer focus has raised hundreds of millions since its inception.

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Manuary focuses on a wide variety of cancers including the most common throat, tongue and tonsils to the less common spit glands and sinuses.

Jaggi said more than 90 per cent of head and neck cancer cases are squamous cell carcinomas, one of the major forms of skin cancer. He said if left undiagnosed for too long, head and neck cancers are fatal 50 per cent of the time. Early diagnoses, however, have a cure rate as high as 85 per cent.

That's why he said awareness and early detection is key.

"Twenty years ago, if a 30-year-od woman walked into a doctors or dentist office and said she had a sore in her mouth, had trouble swallowing or speech had changed, the thought of cancer wouldn't have even come to the mind of the health care worker," Jaggi said, adding head and neck cancers typically targeted men above 60 years of age who smoked and drank.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has since replaced alcohol and tobacco use as the leading cause of head and neck cancers today. In addition, Jaggi said those diagnosed are now both men and women, in their 30s with no history of substance abuse.

While men are still four times more likely than women to be affected, Jaggi wants everyone to get involved.

"We also want men who can't grow beards to get involved. Remember, these are head and neck cancer patients who have had radiation to the face and they often can't grow beards," he said.

For anyone unable to grow their own facial fur, they can add one to their photograph and donate at the Manuary website.

Jaggi also criticized public officials for a lack of modern equipment and practices in Saskatchewan. Six months ago, the St. Paul's hospital foundation paid for their own, and the province's first, carbon dioxide laser to treat early stages of voice box cancer. The laser has been the standard of care in Canada for the past decade, according to Jaggi.

Saskatoon's first Manuary has 20 participants but new faces and donors are still welcome.

Participants will be at Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop on 51st Street East Saturday at 6:30 p.m. to shave their faces clean. On Jan. 31, the men will show off their month's worth of growth in a fashion show at Village Guitar and Amp with contests for best and worst beards.

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