In the spirit of Movember and No-shave November many officers in our departments have been sporting facial hair to promote awareness of men’s health issues and raise money for local community causes. No shave November, coordinated by the American Cancer Society, encourages us to “embrace our hair, which many cancer patients lose, letting it grow wild and free.”

The Movember movement challenges men to grow beards or goatees during Movember (the month formerly known as November) to spark conversation and raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health problems.

The average life expectancy of men is almost five years shorter than women in our country. One of the most important things we can do to close this gap is to take care of ourselves BEFORE we get sick. As men, we often avoid the doctor for routine checkups — yet early detection is the key to preventing many of our top killers — heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Do you have a primary care doctor for routine checkups? Do you know your blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol numbers? Is your body mass index (BMI) and waste size in the healthy range? Tracking these numbers and keeping them in check will lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and many types of cancer. Ironically, many men have a better car maintenance record than a personal health record!

Let’s step up the game and be better healthy role models for the boys in our lives so they have a chance to close that longevity gap. This month, spend the time saved from shaving to find a primary care doctor and call to schedule that checkup you’ve been putting off. Dust off that weight bench and start lifting with your kids or begin training together for a 5K run. Show your children how to be safe by buckling up every time you’re in the car and wearing your bike helmet.

For more healthy resources and ideas, we encourage you to visit Access Health’s website: AccessHealthME.org. As our local Healthy Maine Partnership, their job is to make it easier for all community members to lead healthy, happy lives — including unshaven men!

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Mike Field is the Chief of Bath Police Department. Marc Hagan is the Deputy Chief of Brunswick Police Department.