My job as a charity director is varied. Some days I am answering letters, making a speech or celebrating good news, such as when a man tells me he’s been clear from cancer for a year; other times I’m hugging a man who’s just been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and has to go home to tell his wife. You never know what you might be faced with, but with whatever I am doing I try to increase awareness of prostate cancer. Never more so, than when I am giving a presentation.
In the UK, less than 30% of men know where their prostate is, let alone what it does, so talking to men about their health and encouraging them to see a GP if they think something is wrong is an important part of my talk. I’m proud of the work the charity achieves and my 20-minute presentations help us raise awareness and understanding of prostate cancer.
I meet diverse groups of people on my travels, from hill farmers on Dartmoor to boat builders in Falmouth docks. One Sunday afternoon, however, sticks in my memory. I met up with a group of people in east Devon who were presenting me with a donation. They had fundraised for the charity and I went along to thank them and tell them how much we appreciated their support.
Some of the people had become familiar faces, having met them at one talk or another, but I didn’t realise how big an impact my presentations had on people. I didn’t know how much individuals actually listened and took on board what I had to say, until a man and his wife came to see me after the presentation and thanked me. He said that if he hadn’t heard my talk last year he wouldn’t have gone to seen his GP to ask for a prostate check, he wouldn’t have found his cancer early and probably wouldn’t be alive today.
I was taken aback. I knew that education and awareness was vital for an early diagnosis and successful prognosis but to actually get that emotive feedback, for a man to say I saved his life – you can’t get a better reward than that. I had made a tangible difference. It has spurred me on to do more to raise awareness and to ensure people don’t just see prostate cancer as an old man’s disease – one in four men diagnosed are under retirement age.
The day I made a difference is the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network’s series that showcases the work of people involved with charities. If you have a story you want to share email voluntarysectornetwork@theguardian.com with a short summary of your experience.
