Fighting Cancer Grows on D-backs, Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Doctors

PHOENIX, AZ - Nov. 30, 2018 - Barbers wielding straight razors put an end to Dignity Health’s “Let Your Humankindness Grow – No Shave Challenge” today by rapidly shearing off a month-long growth from Arizona Diamondbacks President & CEO Derrick Hall, former baseball star Luis Gonzalez and doctors from Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.

Held at The University of Arizona Cancer Center at St. Joseph’s, the event proved a close shave for eight daring participants during the grand finale of the bristly fourth-annual charity challenge.

For the month of November, members of the D-backs family and hospital staff put down their razors in order to take up the cause of supporting men’s health and cancer medical services.  Each year, D-back’s Hall leads the charge to raise awareness about the importance for men to get tested for prostate cancer.

“The key to any treatment is early detection, and I’m testimony to that as a prostate cancer survivor. I’m very proud of this program,” Hall said at the event. “It’s never easy for me to grow a beard, because I usually don’t wear one, but it allows me to ask for forgiveness at the start of every meeting and tell people why I’m growing a beard, which is good. This year, we raised more money than we ever have, so it must be catching on.”

Called “Let Your Humankindness Grow,” the premise of the annual challenge is simple: Don’t shave between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30 and instead support men’s health and cancer services through donations to SupportStJosephs.org. During today’s Shave Off, the Diamondbacks presented the Center with a $50,000 donation; other donations are still being counted.

“We had a great time and each enjoyed a great shave, but it is really about encouraging all men to take their health seriously,” said Ronald Gagliano, MD, Associate Chief Medical Officer for Oncology Physician Services and chairman of Dignity Health Medical Group’s department of surgery. “Through prevention and early diagnosis, we can all live longer, healthier lives.”
 
Student barbers from the International Barber College donated their time and talent to produce the clean shaves while members of the barbershop quartet, “Audacity” performed. The University of Arizona Cancer Center at St. Joseph’s opened in August 2015 in downtown Phoenix. The center is the only National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center headquartered in Arizona. NCI facilities are dedicated to reducing the morbidity and mortality from cancer through research.

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