No-Shave November effort grows facial hair – and almost $55,000 for cancer research

This year, Dr. Jay Raman wanted to see how tall the crops would grow.

In Novembers past, the chief of the Division of Urology in the Department of Surgery at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center/Penn State College of Medicine trimmed his No-Shave November beard for a clean-cut look.

Not this fall. Raman decided let it grow to see how big it would get. By the end of the month, he’d knitted a bulkier-than-usual version of his annual holiday face sweater.

And the charity for men’s health and cancer research grew almost $55,000 richer.

No-Shave November is a month-long journey during which participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness.

Raman and more than 225 others from Urology joined forces with Mid Penn Bank for their annual beard bake. No-Shave November is good fun, but the cause it supports is serious.

Every year, as their beards get longer, the team reaches out to friends, colleagues and clients to build awareness for men’s health and chip in funds to support cancer prevention.

Raman sought help from his “generous and grateful patients.”

“It’s fun for us to do this,” Raman said, “but if it means that one or two people realize there’s more to what we’re doing than growing facial hair for a month … then all of this has been well worth it.”

On Dec. 5, Raman appeared on abc27, where he received a check from Mid Penn Bank.

See more about the Division of Urology’s No-Shave November efforts.

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