BRAD Batten has first-hand experience with how frustratingly stoic men can be about their health.
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"My grandfather died of cancer," he told the Advocate this week. "The nurses told us when he was in a coma that he'd had cancer for nine years, but he didn't tell any of the family.
"I realised [then] blokes don't talk about health."
Mr Batten, of WaterMart Bathurst, is one of a number of locals sporting mature moustaches as the annual Movember awareness campaign winds to a close.
Movember, which began 15 years ago, asks blokes to furnish their upper lip to get a conversation going about the topic men seem to enjoy avoiding: their health.
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Mr Batten and some other Movember regulars, Todd Bray and Shawn Murphy from Harvey Norman and James Walton from First National Bowyer and Livermore, said getting men to talk is more important than ever after the drought that has battered Bathurst.
“Rural health is a massive issue,” Mr Murphy said.
He and Mr Bray said Harvey Norman has a number of regulars and Movember is a talking point that can lead to other conversations.
Mr Walton said he deals with farmers, graziers and “retired cockies” and “it [the moustache] is a conversation starter and brings a lighter side to it all”.
The mo-growers said men need to be prepared to open up – even just a little.
“Talk to a mate,” Mr Bray said. “It’s not so much you’re asking for help, you’re just having a chat.”
All four have suffered for their moustaches.
"My wife hates it, but she knows why I do it," Mr Batten said.
Mr Murphy, meanwhile, said his mo-growing had encouraged some left-field thinking in his house.
"My wife organises Christmas photos in October now," he said.
And then there are the occasional happy side-effects.
"My wife told me I have to keep it [the mo] for an extra week because she's got an 80s-themed Christmas party coming up," Mr Batten said.
"My [Super] Mario suit turned up in the mail today."