With the chilly winter weather finally here, your face may be longing for the cozy days under your Movember 'stache. January — or Manuary — is another opportunity to grow facial hair for a great cause.

"Last year was the first year that (Manuary) supported head and neck cancer," explained Alyson Nichols, a volunteer Organizer for Manuary. "It was started by one of the ear, nose and throat residents (in the Head and Neck Surgery Department at London Health Sciences Centre), Dr. Leigh Sowerby." Sowerby is currently in Edmonton on a fellowship, and is organizing a Manuary fundraising event there as well.

Manuary 2011 saw LHSC staff, residents and patients, as well as members of the London community, grow some big, beautiful, bushy beards to raise nearly $10,000. They have hopes to surpass that number this year.

All members of the London community are encouraged to participate in this year's Manuary. Men can upload pictures of their beards' progress to the Manuary website (manuary.ca). Women can participate by uploading a picture to the website as well, and with a little photo manipulation, the ladies of Manuary will be provided with some facial hair of their very own. All participants are encouraged to gather donations, and the funds raised will go to head and neck cancer research at LHSC.

On January 31, there will be a Facial Hair Face-Off held at the Coates of Arms Pub (580 Talbot St.) at 8 p.m., where the participant with the most creative facial hair will receive a prize, and the Head and Neck Surgery Department at London Health Sciences Centre will announce the total amount raised. Everyone's invited to this night of live music and door prizes to support the cause.

"The main thing that we are talking about is really throat cancer; cancers of the tongue, of your voice box, your vocal chords, the tonsil area — that's for the large part what people mean when they talk about head and neck cancers," explained Dr. Anthony Nichols, a researcher and head and neck surgeon at the LHSC, adding that this can also include some types of skin cancer that occur on the face.

When you put these types of cancers together, they make up the fifth most common type of cancer in North America, and men are four times more likely than women to be affected by it. Recent research has revealed a link between these types of cancer and the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer in women.

The 'classic' patients with these types of head and neck cancers tended to be older people, who had been heavy smokers and drinkers. That is changing, according to Dr. Nichols. "We're seeing really young people, like in their 40s, coming in with throat cancers. They'll say, 'I don't smoke, I don't drink, why would I get this?' We now know that it's (because of) HPV."

"Because of pap smears, cervical cancer is going down year by year (because of public awareness)," he continued. "Actually, at the present time, there are about as many HPV-related throat cancers as there are cervical cancers." With Manuary, the department is hoping to raise awareness about this disease.

For more information, visit manuary.ca. Check out last year's participants under the 'Beards' tab to get some ideas for fancy facial follicles and get growing!