Let's fight prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Each year 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10,000 men die. M&S is working with the Prostate Cancer Charity to help raise money for research, support, information and campaigning.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Each year 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10,000 men die – that’s the equivalent of one death an hour.
In 2007, M&S and The Prostate Cancer Charity created a landmark partnership that is committed to helping the Charity fight prostate cancer on every front: through research, support, information and campaigning.
John Neate, The Charity’s Chief Executive, says: “Though it is a disease that devastates the lives of thousands of men and their families every year, prostate cancer is a much neglected cause. It is fantastic that M&S has recognised that it can no longer go unnoticed.”
To date we’ve raised over £100,000 to help the Charity’s work supporting men and their families affected by prostate cancer. This year we aim to double that amount.
You can help us by showing your support during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (10-16 March). From 17 February, you’ll be able to buy a blue ‘Real Man’ pin badge in any of our stores. Look out for special ‘blue man’ menswear products, too, where 10% of the sales are donated to The Prostate Cancer Charity.
The face of this year’s campaign is Andi Peters, who said: "I was so chuffed that I was asked to be the face of the M&S Prostate Cancer Charity range and the awareness week. I’m an M&S pant wearer and am really happy to be able to do something to help raise awareness of Prostate Cancer and reach a wider audience, especially people of African Caribbean descent like myself; it’s a shocking fact that just due to our genetic makeup we are more at risk of getting prostate cancer.”
For more information on prostate cancer, go to www.prostate-cancer.org.uk, or call The Prostate Cancer Charity’s confidential Helpline on 0800 074 8383. It’s staffed by specialist nurses and is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and additionally from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesdays.
Case Studies
Support
Phil Kissi was watching BBC1’s City Hospital when he saw something about prostate cancer, prompting him to ask his GP for a PSA test – it turned out he had early stage aggressive prostate cancer.
To get up to speed on the disease, Phil’s nurse Pat gave him one of The Prostate Cancer Charity’s Tool Kits. It’s an A-Z of prostate cancer.
A walk-through of everything you want to know. It’s brilliant and it put me in a mood where I wasn’t scared. It helped my fiancée too.”
Information and Awareness
Christine Hill from Cardiff has lost two husbands to prostate cancer and is now determined to increase awareness of the disease.
"Losing someone you love is very hard. It doesn't just affect you, the whole family suffers. I want to support The Prostate Cancer Charity as much as possible because I don't want another family to go through what we have. As far I'm concerned every one person that's made aware of prostate cancer, is potentially one life saved.
I think it is important to educate women about prostate cancer because they have an important role to play. They can watch out for symptoms and encourage their partners to go to the doctor."
Campaigning
At 12.20 one April lunchtime, journalist Bill Elliott was told he had prostate cancer, 50 minutes later his wife Val learned she had breast cancer.
It is hard to imagine that evening at home. What happened over the coming months, however, is a lesson in how differently people with prostate cancer and breast cancer are cared for in the UK.
"Val moved into a well-oiled process, receiving treatment within six weeks. All I received was a letter from my clinicians saying ‘Sorry the Primary Care Trust is not funding your treatment’".
After contacting the Charity and the health editor at the Observer a campaign was mounted. It resulted in the Primary Care Trust changing their mind and Bill was able to receive the treatment he needed.
Research
Robert Oldroyd is on our Research Advisory Committee, which has just evaluated 49 projects for research funding, and given the go-ahead to seven.
"Our role is to make sure the research The Prostate Cancer Charity funds, makes a specific difference to men’s lives. The key thing for me is to discover why prostate cancer occurs, because if we can find that out, it will eventually avoid the need for all the other stuff down the line".
"We chose seven projects for funding…focused completely on prostate cancer. It’s one of the reasons I give a donation myself every year. I have confidence in putting money in their hands".
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