Helping men fight Cancer.

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“I never thought I’d get cancer. I mean, I was 24. At that age I wasn’t thinking that much about my health - I just wanted to make the most of my twenties. I ignored the pain I felt in my neck for ages thinking it’d just sort itself out. When it didn’t go away, I still avoided going to the doctor.

I knew something was wrong but I was so anxious about what the doctor would say and that they’d tell me off for for leaving it, that I just pretended I was fine. I finally got diagnosed with stage 3 throat cancer.

My mates were all worried about me and tried to support me, but they didn’t understand what I was going through. They didn’t know how to talk to me, and that just made me feel more broken. I didn’t know who I could turn to for support to get through it all.

Once I was in remission, I found it hard to readjust to normal life again - I’d missed out on so much.”

Male throat cancer survivoraged 28

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“I was already feeling terrified about the prospect of having cancer. But what made it worse was the embarrassment of it being breast cancer. No one ever tells you that men can get breast cancer too. It somehow made me feel less of a man. It didn’t help when I was looking up information on breast cancer - or even in the waiting room for treatment - all the information around me was specifically related to women. It made me feel even more isolated and alone.”

Male breast cancer survivoraged 39

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“I’d been feeling more tired than usual and had some lower back pain, but I just assumed it was stress from work. I went in for something else entirely and almost didn’t mention it, but the doctor sent me for scans just in case. They caught a small tumour on my kidney. It turned out to be early-stage cancer. I had no idea something like that could be growing without major symptoms. If I hadn’t said anything, it might not have been found until it was too late. Now I tell everyone: don’t shrug stuff off - even the small things matter.”

Male kidney cancer survivoraged 43

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“I started having stomach pain and feeling really tired all the time when I was 16. I went to the doctor a couple of times but was told it was probably just stress or diet-related. Even when I told them it I knew it wasn't stress of food, I felt like I wasn’t being taken seriously. By the time they finally did the proper tests, it was stage 3 bowel cancer. I kept thinking - if they’d listened the first time, maybe it wouldn’t have gotten this far.”

Young person diagnosed with bowel canceraged 19

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“Watching someone you love go through cancer is one of the hardest things. My partner’s always been the strong one - the one who holds everything together. But after his diagnosis, I had to be that person. I didn’t want to break in front of him, so I kept it all bottled up. I was trying to be his rock, keep working, keep the house running - but inside, I was falling apart. No one really checks in on the people supporting someone through it.”

Partner of cancer patientaged 37