Mercury 2: STAYING ALIVE ; Men Must Stop Being Macho About Health

CANCER kills more than 80,000 British men every year but many remain ignorant of the danger.

This weeks sees the launch of a nationwide campaign, called Man Alive, to raise awareness among men.

It also coincides with the publication of the first ever guide to male breast cancer which affects up to 300 men each year.

Tory leader Michael Howard and Cherie Blair give public backing for the guide. Both have lost loved ones to the disease in the last decade and are well aware of the importance of regular check-ups.

Pat McGeevor,from Stechford, Birmingham, paid little attention to his own health until he was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997.

The lorry driver’s time was taken up looking after his seriously ill mother, Vera, and working all the hours he could on the road.

Pat, now 65 and retired, said: ‘I was in the shower one day and found a lump under my arm – but I didn’t take a blind bit of notice. ‘Men are supposed to be macho about things like that, so I just shrugged it off until I started breaking out in hot sweats.’

Eventually his daughter Karen, 45, forced him to go the doctor who knew straight away that he was very sick.

Pat said: ‘I went to hospital with Karen and they told me I had breast cancer. It knocked us both sideways. Karen collapsed in shock and I just couldn’t get my head round it.

‘I just didn’t think you could get breast cancer if you were male.’

Pat underwent immediate surgery to have the cancer removed but then faced a gruelling six-month course of chemotherapy.

He was given the all-clear soon afterwards and celebrated with a few drinks with his domino team who had just won the league championship.

But he still regrets not taking his health seriously enough – and has a warning for men across the region.

Pat said: ‘Men have got to forget this macho rubbish and check themselves out regularly. When you have a shower it doesn’t hurt to check your body out.’ l If you would like to help raise funds for research into male cancers contact Cancer Research UK on 0121 359 5676 or log on to the website www.cancerresearchuk.org/manalive for more information.

To order a free copy of the male breast cancer guide log on to www.breastcancercare.org.uk For one-to-one advice, dial the Breast Cancer Care helpline free on 0808 600 8000. Trained nurses and other men with breast cancer can offer support and a friendly ear to those affected

RICHARD’S STORY

RICHARD Noble, 34, a health club owner from Malvern, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1998.

He said: ‘My wife told me to get a lump checked out by the GP, even though I didn’t think there was a problem.

‘I wasn’t being macho – I’m just not a worrier and even when the GP referred me to a consultant I wasn’t too worried.

‘It only hit home when they told me the lump was malignant. Even then I didn’t really worry. I just got on with things which really helped my wife Rachel to deal with things.

‘But I’ll never forget the doctor telling me that if they had caught the cancer just two weeks later it could have been a very different story.

‘Six years on, I still don’t check myself regularly enough. But I’d urge other men to ignore my example and if there is anything slightly amiss with their bodies, they should get it checked out right away ANDREW Wheddon, 22, a hotel consultant from Dorridge, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2000. He recalled: ‘I was in disbelief when I found out a lump in my testicles was cancerous and that it had spread to the back of my stomach.

‘I didn’t know what to do – you don’t think about things like that when you’re aged just 18. But when I did think about cancer I thought about death.

‘I was so scared it was untrue but my consultant put me at ease. He told me that I faced six months of chemo

ANDREW’S STORY

therapy and that I had an 85 per cent chance of pulling through.

‘The odds were in my favour but I have to admit that the 15 per cent chance of failure did initially seem a bigger figure.

‘At the end of the chemotherapy, I had a stomach operation and was eventually given the all-clear. ‘Getting cancer at 18 taught me that the illness can strike at any time and that I should respect my body and just enjoy my life