Bristol Company's Cancer Care
A Bristol garden landscape company is encouraging its male staff to have blood tests to check if they have prostate cancer.
Bowland Stone, which is based at Crews Hole Road, St George, has 20 men on the payroll, each of whom will be made aware of the PSA blood test, which could save their lives.
Managing Director, Paul Elston, who last week celebrated his 60th birthday, volunteered to be the first in the company to get checked out after agreeing to sponsor this year’s Run for the Future.
The annual 5km on Bristol Downs is organised by Bristol Rotary to raise funds for the BUI Prostate Cancer Appeal and will take place this year on Sunday, 7 September.
Over the past two years Run for the Future has raised more than £100,000, which is being used to fund vital research into the diagnosis and treatment of a disease that affects more than 35,000 men each year in the UK, killing more than 10,000.
David Gillatt, Director of the Bristol Urological Institute, says early diagnosis is vital. ““Generally a 50 year old man has a one in 11 chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, but it’s a disease that many do not want to talk about.
“A simple diagnostic blood test could save their life – and it’s even more important for men with an Afro Caribbean background, who are three times more likely to get prostate cancer!”
Paul Elston hopes other companies follow Bowland Stone’s lead. “If business owners have male staff approaching the age of 50 they should encourage them to have a PSA blood test. It not only shows you care, but it could save their lives. We’ll be stressing the importance to all our male staff, but also making sure our female staff go home and talk to their families about the importance of getting checked out.”
Run co-ordinator and Rotarian, Ian Beattie, says the event is for everyone in the South West whose lives have been affected by prostate cancer. “Run for the Future is about providing hope – for the men who suffer from the disease and for their families,” he says.
For further information, or to participate in the event, visit the website at www.runforthefuture.org or phone the Run for the Future office on 0117 9596328 for a Registration form.
