When Brian Hurley, director of the Gardiner Centre at Memorial, left his office this past Friday, he had no idea his weekend would be hijacked.

In this case, hijacking meant a whirlwind trip to Toronto and a limousine ride to tape a segment with CBC television’s wildly successful satirical news program This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

As it turned out, Mr. Hurley’s determination to be one of the top fundraiser for the show’s prostate cancer Movember challenge was successful: he now stands at $1,750, with two days still left to the month. What’s even more impressive is that Craig Lynch, a fourth-year engineering student, is also a contender at $1,065. For their moustache-growing effort, the two men were contacted by producers from the show on Friday, flown to Toronto on Saturday for a taping with Mark Critch and then returned home on Sunday.

“My first reaction was, ‘Is this for real?’” said Mr. Hurley. “And my second was, ‘Do I want to expose myself on national TV to mockery?’ But, as a prostate cancer survivor, it’s an issue that is near and dear to my heart. It’s important to get the message out.”

For his part, Mr. Lynch says statistics show that he or someone he knows in his male-dominated field of study will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. But that doesn’t mean it has to be all bad news.

“It’s a preventable cancer,” says Mr. Lynch. “And with people like our dean, Dr. Venkatesan, growing a moustache and about 150 guys from my faculty growing one, I think we’re making a difference.”

Hockey Night in Canada commentator Ron MacLean will judge the men’s ’staches on the episode, which airs Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 8:30 p.m. Olivia Chow, member of Parliament and the widow of Jack Layton, will present the winner with “The Jack,” an award in remembrance of her late husband and leader of the national New Democratic Party.

And while Mr. Hurley says he had a lot of fun taking part in the experience – he describes his moustache as “The Trucker” -- he also underlines the importance of men taking responsibility for their own health.

“Men are the secret keepers,” he said. “No one talks about prostate cancer.”

To donate to the men’s Movember campaigns, go to http://mobro.co/BrianHurley and http://mobro.co/craiglynch. Both men would also like to thank all of their generous donors.