Story
Hello! Thanks for clicking this link & special thanks for reading to the end (which you will, 🤨, just kidding, you are free to click away whenever you want 🤨🤨🥹)! I need to think about an incentive..like a pair of barely worn trainers, goodness knows I have amassed enough…ok I digress. Let’s talk about why I have gathered you / people that you know, to read this.
In the one picture on this main page, I’m the baby in my dad’s arms, flanked by my mum and 4 brothers (sweet huh 😌🥹☺️), so it goes to say that I was born into a family with 4 brothers. We are of African descent (Nigeria specifically 🇳🇬). Two of my brothers have died prematurely to causes unrelated to prostate cancer, so I'm particularly keen to do what I can to raise the awareness of conditions that are of higher risk in anyone that has a prostate, that include the beloved men in my life, but also in yours.
My brothers along with men that look like them, are more likely to get prostate cancer than other men who aren't of African descent. One in four black men will get prostate cancer, whilst other men have a 1 in 8 chance in the UK (see link 1 below on this).
If you are a black man, and you are over 45 years old your risk increases, as does your risk if you have a sister who has breast cancer.
By raising funds for prostate cancer research I run for all men, including my brothers. Men generally are less likely to see medical professionals for health concerns when compared to women, so much so that previously in medical sociology women were known as the ‘worried well’. Whether you agree with this or not, women may in certain countries live longer as they are more likely to seek medical advice about symptoms/signs that worry them, whilst men may not.
Having the opportunity to run for prostate cancer research helps me get the message out there about this condition and the importance of doing a simple blood test called 'PSA' that all men can request from their nhs gp following a discussion & having weighed up the implications of testing, if you are 50 years old and over even if you don’t have symptoms. If you aren’t over 50 years old, and you have symptoms suggestive of prostate cancer / are worried about it, do still speak to your doctor: the test is available to any man / individual with a prostate (including trans women and non-binary people).
Join me by donating towards research so that the men in our lives who are living with this condition, or at risk of this condition can have a future where this cancer is treated in a way that further improves their prognosis.
Whilst we are in a cost of living crisis, if you have any amount to give without compromising your day to day needs, please do, and if you can't, share this link with someone who may be able to.
Read more below in the links attached, and underneath that about why Prostate cancer research UK and the london marathon are two special charities worthy of your attention.
Thank you.
2. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prostate-cancer/psa-testing/
I'm taking on the London Marathon, one of the most iconic races in the world, to support Prostate Cancer Research. This will be my first London marathon and I couldn't think of a greater charity to run it for.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed male cancer in the UK, yet current treatments are limited and can be harmful particularly for the late stages.
Prostate Cancer Research funds research into more effective treatments for prostate cancer with the aim creating a future where people are free from the impact of the disease. Your fundraising will support innovative scientists with bold ideas working collaboratively to achieve results and who put patient voice at the heart of their decisions making a real difference to the lives of people affected.
Any donation will help me get one step closer to my target and will help to support Prostate Cancer Research in achieving their mission.
Now for a bit about the london marathon:
The London Marathon has become an annual, inspiring and colourful fixture in the world’s sporting calendar since the inaugural race on 29 March 1981: a celebration of fun, fundraising and fancy dress.
Over the years more than a million people have completed the 26.2-mile course – which runs from Blackheath to The Mall, with a spectacular finish in front of Buckingham Palace, showcasing the very best that the capital city has to offer.
What’s more, these participants have raised over a billion pounds for charity and there have been countless amazing tales of human achievement throughout the event’s history – living up to its aim of helping participants ‘to have fun, and provide some happiness and sense of achievement in a troubled world’.
Thank you beyond measure!