Worthing men urged to check their ‘baubles’

At a meeting of the borough council this week, Martin McCabe (Lib Dem, Tarring) received unanimous support for his efforts to raise awareness of the disease, which affects 2,000 men each year.

Mr McCabe told his fellow councillors that he had received medical help recently after finding ‘a couple of lumps on my baubles’.

Praising the ‘world class’ service he was given by the NHS, he admitted that he was one of those men who had not regularly checked himself as he always assumed ‘it couldn’t happen to me’.

He wasn’t the only one to share his personal experiences.

An emotional Sean McDonald (Con, Northbrook) spoke powerfully about people he had lost to cancer and called on the council to spearhead an awareness campaign.

Mr McDonald added: “I’ve lost too many friends and family to what is an appalling disease.

“This is a very serious subject and men should check themselves regularly.”

Information from the NHS shows that, if caught early, testicular cancer is one of the easiest to treat.

In England and Wales, almost all men – some 99 per cent – survive for a year or more after being diagnosed, and 98 per cent survive for 5 years or more.

That alone should be a good enough reason for men to check themselves regularly.

Val Turner (Con, Gaisford) stressed the need to look out for lumps and changes in skin condition anywhere on the body.

She said: “Unfortunately there is a tendency, especially for men, to feel it can’t possibly happen to them.

“It’s when it gets neglected that the problems really arise.”

She added: “More men died of breast cancer than testicular cancer which is why it’s important for men to consider their body as a whole and not just one area.”

Mayor Lionel Harman summed up the potentially dangerous attitude of many men when it came to their health.

He said: “I think us guys sometimes are our own worst enemies. We sometimes try to ‘man it up’ and hide things.

“If we bring this out to the public eye it can only be a good thing.”

NHS guidance can be found at www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/mens-health/what-should-my-testicleslook-and-feel-like/