Check em lads - Testicular cancer

Men in the UK have been largely ignoring medical advice to check regularly for signs of Testicular cancer. By checking regularly for lumps or growths, males can greatly improve their survival rate, with 95% of all cases each year being cured.

Charity, Check Em Lads has been running for the past 8 years with the aims of firstly making sure men check their testies on a regular basis and to remind people it needs to doing. Set up in 2003 by world famous drummer Steve White from The Style Council, The Who & Paul Weller, along with survivor and activist Philly Morris.

Check Em Lads also offers help, support and advice to all, connecting suffers in their time of needs and helping one another through their harrowing journey to, hopefully full recovery.

Checkemlads visits hospitals, schools, and factories to give talks and also the British Army including Sandhurst where Prince Harry was keen to learn about the illness. Supporters include, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Rickey Whittle, Paul Weller, Al Murray & Alan White of Oasis.

To help support their campaigns, Check Em Lads has a website http://www.checkemlads.com/, which has over 3 million hits and the team have been to the House of Commons to tell the government about testicular cancer awareness and support and how it needs to be taught in schools.

Testicular cancer is more common in young men aged 15-35. If it is found early enough it can be cured very quickly, if left then it can be one of the most dangerous. Checking is needed once a month and it's becoming more common every year.

Local testicular cancer survivor Mark Porter @marksporter has now joined the team to promote & raise awareness of testicular cancer in his area of Stoke and the Midlands

Mark’s Story

“May 3rd 1998 I was driving to Huddersfield to watch Vale when I felt a dull ache in my groin, it just felt like a bit of cramp so I wasn’t too worried about it. After about a week whilst I was in the bath I was checking all around my groin which was slightly swollen, when I decided to check my testicle my left one seemed fine, but the right one had a lump.

The next day I made an appointment to see the doctor who sent me for an ultrasound I went home after & within 15 hours received a call from the hospital within the week I had my testicle & lymph nodes removed when I went for the results of the operation I was told I had a Non Seminoma Teratoma the oncologist said “I’m sorry but your cancer has spread you will need to have chemotherapy”. The fight for survival was about to begin. Two weeks later I started my course of chemotherapy. http://voicesofsurvivors.org/?p=33

I finished my treatment in March of 99, the cancer had gone, & I was now able to rebuild my life.

I have suffered with hormone problems since due to the chemotherapy which has now been sorted thanks to help from Nick O’Hara Smith author of the website www.androids.org.uk .

I have now dedicated myself to helping raise awareness of this terrible disease. If you go to a football match you check you have your ticket, if you go out you check you have your wallet & keys. If you play the lotto you check your tickets.

“So don’t let your health become a lottery check yourself regularly”.

If you feel anything unusual then go immediately & see your doctor.”

For more information visit the website www.checkemlads.com or to email Mark mark@checkemlads.com.

What should you Know

Around 2,090 men in the UK are diagnosed with testicular cancer every year.

Testicular cancer is rare before puberty but is the most common cancer of men aged 15-44.

The incidence of testicular cancer has doubled in Britain since the mid-1970s.

Surviving Testicular Cancer

Since the introduction of combination chemotherapy in the 1970s, survival rates for testicular cancer have risen every year to cure rates of over 95%.

Now, more than 95% of men with testicular cancer are cured, compared to less than 70% in the early 1970s.

Testicular cancer incidence is rising, particularly in Caucasian men

Testicular cancer death rates

How many men die from testicular cancer?

Each year around 70 men in the UK die from testicular cancer.

Testicular cancer death rates have fallen by 80% in the last forty years.