Upstate's Prostate Cancer Team raises awareness of prostate cancer with Syracuse Crunch in mustache-growing competition

Throughout the month of November, also known as Movember, members of Upstate's Prostate Cancer Team and the Syracuse Crunch will be growing mustaches as part of this fundraising initiative and best-mustache competition.

Upstate's Movember Mustache Challenge team will be led by Gennady Bratslavsky, MD, professor and chair of Upstate’s Department of Urology, and include the following physicians: Dr. Gennady Bratslavsky, Srinivas Vourganti, Andy Wojtowycz, Steve Graziano, Gustavo dela Roza, Mike Lacombe,Dmitriy Nikolavsky, Stephen Blakely, Henry Okafor, Osama Zaytoun,Jared Manwaring, Mickey Daugherty, Mourad Abouelleil, Mahmoud Chehab, Jonathan Riddell, Rahul Seth, Thomas Coyle, Jeff Bogart, Robert Corona and Robert Poster.  The aforementioned physicians represent the departments of Urology and Urologic Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, Radiology, Surgical and Molecular Pathology and Molecular Imaging

The Syracuse Crunch Movember Mustache Challenge team will consist of Crunch players, including Mike Angelidis, Matt Corrente, Joey Mormina and others.

Syracuse Orange basketball coach Jim Boeheim will serve as an honorary coach for both teams.

Each team will compete to raise the most funds between now and Nov. 27. Fans can make donations online at syracusecrunch.com/movember. All donations will benefit the Prostate Cancer Care and Research Fund at Upstate. The team that collects the most donations by midnight Nov. 27 will be declared the winner. The Upstate Prostate Cancer Team will be on hand at the Crunch game Nov. 28 vs. Binghamton when the winning team will be announced and a check presented.

Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from of all tickets purchased for the Nov. 28 Crunch game using the code "stache" will benefit the Prostate Cancer Care and Research Fund. Tickets can be ordered by calling 315-473-4444 or visiting ticketmaster.com. Any fan with a mustache who purchases a ticket at the Crunch box office on Nov. 28 will also have a portion of that ticket value donated to the fund.

Proper management of prostate cancer requires more than the ability to perform an operation. It involves making informed judgments about a complex disease process--from diagnosis to performing active treatment in those who may be considered high-risk. Most importantly, it also includes avoiding unnecessary treatment.

Upstate's Prostate Cancer Team understands that having highly trained specialists utilizing the latest technology provides patients with the most up-to-date treatment options. They understand the importance of collaboration. That's why they work with the nation-s foremost public research institutions that include close partnerships with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). And it's why this team consists of professionals from a host of specialties--including urology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, pathology, surgery, radiology, social work, nursing and psychology--who coordinate care so each patient receives the care that's right for him, delivered by experts in each applied field.

Additionally, Upstate employs some of the latest technology to help find and treat prostate cancer, such as the UroNav Fusion Biopsy System, which fuses together different sources of information to create a comprehensive picture of the prostate in real time, thus creating a more specific target area for biopsy.

Single game and season tickets for the Crunch's 2014-15 campaign are on sale now and can be purchased either in person at the Crunch Box Office located at the War Memorial on 800 South State Street in Syracuse, or by calling the office at (315) 473-4444.