Leyton Orient game will see Town backing FL campaign
Shrewsbury Town will join together with the other 71 Football League clubs in pledging support to Prostate Cancer UK’s Sledgehammer Fund and Prostate Cancer Awareness Month at this weekend's home match against Leyton Orient.
The club will hold a bucket collection at the Greenhous Meadow ahead of the clash with Orient on Saturday.
It is part of Shrewsbury's contribution to highlighting saving men’s lives in support of The Football League’s Official Charity Partnership for the 2012/13 season.
The Sledgehammer Fund aims to wake up the nation to a disease that kills 10,000 men every year. That's one man every hour, and the number of men with the disease is rising at an alarming rate.
While it is already the most common cancer in men, prostate cancer is predicted to become the most common cancer of all in the UK by 2030.
It's as big an issue for men as breast cancer is for women — yet prostate cancer gets just a fraction of the money for research.
The disease is poorly understood, the tests aren't good enough, and the treatments can have life-changing side effects. The prostate is approximately the size and shape of a walnut, and Prostate Cancer UK needs a huge sledgehammer to crack it
Martin James, Head of Community Development at Shrewsbury Town said: “We are proud to be playing our part in supporting The Football League’s Official Charity Partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, during prostate cancer awareness month and we call on our supporters to help crack prostate cancer.
"We're delighted to be able to support this charity as we have done in previous years with other charities.
“Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, killing more than 10,000 in the UK every year. It’s so important that all men know about the disease, which is why we are delighted to play our part in getting the message out there as far and wide as possible - throughout the football community and beyond.”
Mark Bishop, Director of Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, added: “We are delighted that Shrewsbury Town are supporting us to help raise awareness of prostate cancer.
"Between the time it takes for a football fan to walk through the turnstiles, watch the match, get a burger at half time and leave the ground, two men would have died from prostate cancer somewhere in the UK."
Our team of volunteers will be out in force shaking buckets outside the ground on Saturday.
All funds raised will be ploughed back and invested into crucial medical research and support services so that even more people affected by this disease can be helped.
About Prostate Cancer UK: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the UK. Every year in the UK over 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. One man dies die very hour from prostate cancer. 250,000 UK men are currently living with the disease. One in eight men will get prostate cancer in the UK. African Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men.
If you have any queries about prostate cancer, call Prostate Cancer UK’s confidential Helpline on 0800 074 8383. The helpline, which is staffed by specialist nurses, is open from 10am to 4pm from Monday to Friday and from 7 - 9pm on Wednesdays. Alternatively please visit www.prostatecanceruk.org