Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in males in the UK yet 6/10 cases in Scotland are diagnosed at a late stage. More than half of the cases in the UK are in men over 70, more awareness is needed that this type of cancer affects men YOUNGER than 70.

In March this year, my dad was diagnosed with later stage prostate cancer at the age of 49. As if the initial news wasn't heart breaking enough, we went through months of waiting on appointments with oncologists and surgeons, waiting on scans and follow up meetings, eventually in May we got the news that an operation was required. During the op to remove the prostate in June we were given the devastating news that the illness had already spread to the bladder. The delay between initially discovering the illness, receiving advice, going through scans and eventually having the op means My Dad (Wee Jimmy) now has to face an entire new gruelling treatment plan including months of chemo, radio and hormone therapy. Since the OP in June we have been awaiting a date for a PET scan to determine the full scale of the illness but just in the past week we have been given news that there is only one PET scanner in the Lothians which is currently out of function which means we don't even know when or how the treatment plan is going to go for at least another 2/3 months all while the disease is continuing to spread. This has been made all the more difficult given My Dad has always been self employed, we're only now discovering the lack of financial support provided to the self-employed when they are unable to work due to long term illness.

The staff at the Department of Oncology and Urology at the Western General have been truly incredible, especially given the testing times, they have provided endless support while being overworked and understaffed and we want to show them that we recognise their hard work and stand with them by raising money to help them out with department funding. We wish we could extend this to the NHS as a whole but we have to be realistic with our targets and this is the department that has helped my dad out the most.

It's not just about reacting to the news if it comes, almost all of this stress and heartache could have been prevented if more regular checks are carried out and encouraged and if more people are aware of the symptoms and what to look out for. This is where Prostate Cancer UK comes in, we want to support Prostate Cancer UK in their mission to raise awareness and help young men identify and get help with these symptoms before its too late.

To help raise awareness about prostate cancer in younger men and to show our support and unity with the hard-working and amazing staff in the Oncology & Urology departments, my boyfriend Jonny and I will be doing a series of challenges throughout October to raise money. Firstly we will be running 100 miles EACH throughout the month - to give you an idea of the scaled of this, the furthest we have ever run together is down the street with a chippy in our hand trying to catch the last train home...and we missed it!

In order to guarantee you that we're not taking it lightly or having fun on your money, we have also agreed to partake in Stoptober where neither of us will touch a drop of alcohol for the whole month.

Lastly we will both be doing a Bungee Jump. Being big and lanky Jonny isn't particularly scared of heights but with me being like 4ft 1 I find the stairs a hard climb and I am absolutely petrified and its something I would truly never do had it not been for a great cause.

I know parting with your hard earned cash doesn't come lightly and not only do we really appreciate any penny you can spare, we feel its going to two causes that will honestly feel the benefits of your kind donations.Whats more, if you are kind enough to sponsor us more than £50 we will add a challenge of your choosing to our list (within some reason!)

Thank you and much love,

Robyn and Jonny (and Wee Jimmy)

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