Health campaign launched in Spalding

Posters are being put up around Spalding as part of a new campaign to raise awareness of the symptoms of prostate cancer.

The Rightside Trust charity’s Mark Le Sage has launched the initiative and says he’s wanted to do so for decades after seeing a patient while a student nurse who told him he thought the symptoms ‘were just part of getting older’.

Mark says he also has friends who waited too long to get seen about symptoms.

The charity has launched the campaign alongside Prostate Cancer UK, Dr Babu from Beechfield Medical Centre and the Spalding Round Table.

The latter has paid for the production of posters being put in men’s toilets in cafes, pubs and restaurants locally urging people who struggle to wee to visit their GP.

It includes a freephone number set up by Prostate Cancer UK.

“Men in general are pretty bad about going to their GP especially when it may be about something they find embarrassing,” Mark said.

“But the reality is that the sooner something is treated, the less invasive the treatment and the outcome and long term prognosis is normally a lot more positive.

“Some friends I know have endured extra treatment as they left their symptoms too long,” he continued. I actually designed the poster ten years ago when the patient came into the emergency unit and thought the symptoms were just getting old.

“I sent him off for tests and he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“It’s only five years since I started ‘Get it seen, get it sorted’ following my melanoma diagnosis which was featured on the ITV News and really the message is the same.

“If you notice anything different in your toilet habits, going more often, struggling to go, traces of blood or feeling pain, urgency or the sensation you need to go but can’t, please go to your GP.

“A simple blood and or urine test could be all that’s needed to save your life.”