According to Susan G. Komen, 450 men will die of breast cancer in 2011. My stepfather was one of them.

In the endless parade of pink ribbons, pink feather boas, pink tutus and tatas, my stepfather and the other 449 men are forgotten. Or in the case of women’s only breast cancer events, such as the Women’s Only 5k Walk and Run held Oct. 1 in Greensboro, they are intentionally excluded.

If breast cancer does not discriminate, why do we?

Yes, Susan G. Komen predicts that roughly 288,130 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year while only 2,140 men are expected to receive the same diagnosis.

The difference between those diagnosis rates is astounding. But the number of sufferers should never discredit the suffering of each person.

Here is another astounding figure: based on Susan G. Komen’s 2011 predictions, the mortality rate for men with breast cancer will be roughly 22 percent, whereas women will only face a 13 percent mortality rate.

That more than deserves some “Save the Pecs” bumper stickers and respect.

Throughout my stepfather’s illness he wore a pair of pink, flowery flip-flops around the house. Half of that was a joke on Susan G. Komen and the other 2,139 men in his shoes. The other half of it was a need to feel connected, to feel like he was not the only one going through it.

At a time in a person’s life when they are their most vulnerable, scared and in need of support, Susan G. Komen and other breast cancer organizers far too often exclude men to the effect of ignoring their suffering and almost denying their cancer.

If you are okay with that, then by all means, sign up for the next Women’s Only 5k Walk and Run.

But I am not.

So I am stopping just short of making “Save the Pecs” bumper stickers, and instead I am growing a mo’.

By mo’, I mean a moustache. And by growing one, I mean I am supporting the efforts of Movember, a global movement to raise money and awareness for men’s health, specifically cancers that affect men.

Right on the tail of October, which is breast cancer awareness month, Movember asks men — Mo’ Bros — and the women that support them — Mo’ Sistas — to spend November raising awareness for all the illnesses that affect men.

That includes breast cancer.

I am not saying that one month or organization is better than another. Both strive to raise awareness and money, as well as lending support to sufferers.

But I am saying that, while my stepfather will never get to walk with the survivors at a Race for the Cure, will the 1,690 men that are expected to beat breast cancer this year feel welcomed enough to do it?

Will the brothers and sons and husbands who have lost a woman to breast cancer feel welcome enough in the breast cancer community to seek support?

I can not speak for them. But I can speak for my stepfather when I say that I would rather have a mo’ than a feather boa any day.

And Party City sells stick-on ‘staches for $4.99, so no one needs to feel excluded.