Thanks to regular health checks provided by my employer, Lloyds TSB, my prostate cancer was diagnosed in the early stages and there is every chance that the treatment I have been receiving will have been successful. But not everyone is so lucky. Each year about 30,000 men are told they have prostate cancer and about 10,000 men die of it – that’s one person every 50 minutes.

So I reckon it's payback time, and I shall be taking part in the Snowdon 500 challenge (details at www.snowdon500.co.uk) on 16th May 2009 to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Research Centre (PCRC). PCRC is based at the Institute of Urology at University College London. It has a worldwide reputation for innovation and discovery in the field of prostate cancer research. Under the leadership of Professor John Masters the Research Centre employs 15 scientists and support staff and needs £1.5M each year to fund its highly respected research programme.