March for Men: Thousands to take part in Prostate Cancer UK walk in Glasgow

After a two-year break due to Covid-19, the leading men’s charity is excited to welcome back four family-friendly walks in Glasgow, Birmingham, London and Leeds.

The Glasgow event will be held on Sunday, June 12.

Prostate cancer affects 1 in 8 men in the UK - thousands of dads, grandads, partners, brothers, uncles, sons and mates.

A huge community of walkers will complete the 2.5km (fully accessible) and 10km distanced routes around the park marching for their loved ones and raising money to help fund lifesaving research into better treatments and tests to beat prostate cancer.

The news of the event’s return comes hot on the heels of a campaign which saw the NHS and Prostate Cancer UK join forces to find more than 14,000 men across the country, who need treatment for prostate cancer, but have not yet come forward since the start of the pandemic.

More than half a million people have since completed the charity’s online risk checker, and with government guidelines allowing mass participation events to continue, the charity will now host four fun-filled days across the UK.

There are 4,664 men living with prostate cancer in Glasgow and Ian Cassels from Ayrshire, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer himself in 2007, is encouraging other people to get involved in the Glasgow March for Men, after attending the event three years in a row, since it started in 2017.

The retired firefighter said: “When I was told that I had prostate cancer, it felt like the end of the world and I thought my time had come. I was so shocked that my symptoms were related to prostate cancer as I knew nothing about the disease. I was totally speechless.

“Thankfully I had a successful procedure to remove my prostate and am now a volunteer for Prostate Cancer UK and run a local support group organised by the charity.

“I also arranged many awareness talks at my old fire station in Kilmarnock and this led to a partnership with Prostate Cancer UK and Scottish Fire & Rescue. The partnership has been very successful and a fantastic opportunity for me to give talks at several other fire stations across Scotland, to help raise awareness and protect men from this terrible disease.

“I was thrilled that I could join Prostate Cancer UK at the Glasgow March for Men. They are really fun days out and I thoroughly enjoyed taking part and walking with my family. I would encourage anyone to come along and support this worthy cause.”

Since March for Men launched back in 2017, more than 12,500 Prostate Cancer UK supporters have come together to raise an incredible £1.9m in the fight against the most common cancer in men.

All ages and abilities are welcome, including families, friendship groups, work colleagues and even four legged friends, with plenty to do at these action-packed events, including music, food, merchandise and health information.

Nicola Tallett, director of fundraising and supporter engagement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “The fight against prostate cancer, a disease that affects one in eight men, is a purpose worth uniting for, and together we can make strides to combat this disease.

“We want to see a world where men’s lives are not limited by prostate cancer. Men and their loved ones feel the same. That’s why we’re delighted that our March for Men series is back for 2022 and we can’t wait to be together in person across all four events.

“It’s been a difficult two years, but the support for Prostate Cancer UK in that time has been unwavering. The men, women and children who have defied the pandemic to support us are incredible.

“Each has their own story, some heart-breaking others heart-warming. We will all walk side by side and continue in our ultimate quest, to fund more ground-breaking research and work towards a screening programme, to catch prostate cancer early and save lives. Together, we can beat prostate cancer.”

You can sign up for the events now at marchformen.org.