A CANCER support group in Hampshire is encouraging men to get regular check-ups to detect prostate cancer following the death of television presenter Bill Turnbull.

North Hampshire Prostate Cancer Support Group, based in Basingstoke, is asking men to take a quick blood test, which any man over 50 can ask their GP for on the NHS, to pick up any possible cancer indication early.

Bill died from prostate cancer on Wednesday, August 31, at the age of 66. Since his diagnosis in 2018, he has been campaigning for men to get tested for prostate cancer.

Since then, referrals to the NHS increased by about 20 per cent, according to charity Prostate Cancer UK, and calls to its helpline saw a large increase.

The North Hampshire support group, set up about seven years ago to support men and their partners who have experienced this disease, runs regular public events both in the malls and at the Festival of Transport.

The aim of these events is to try and persuade men, or perhaps their partners to use their persuasive skills to encourage their men, to get regular check-ups.

Keith Bunker, a committee member of the support group, said: “When a well-known celebrity dies far too early, it is a real sadness, and when the celebrity is as well known and loved as Bill Turnbull, it is even more poignant.

“With prostate cancer now the most prevalent form of cancer in the UK, by Bill’s own admission, like so many men he did not heed the early warning signs until it was too late and the cancer had spread.

“Yet it is widely recognised that catching the disease early can transform the potential for successful treatment.”

According to the support group, it is generally accepted by the medical profession that there is a genetic link with this disease – thus any man with others in his family who have experienced this disease is more prone to be affected, and again those of Afro – Caribbean background being of much higher risk.

For those who have been given a cancer diagnosis, the support group meets regularly, running a weekly exercise group which helps both ‘wellbeing’, comradeship, and also to mitigate some of the potential treatment side effects.

The group provides support for men and their partners at each stage of potential treatment, with members often sharing their own experiences of different treatments, but most importantly demonstrating that is there is still ‘life after diagnosis’, especially if caught early – something Bill was very keen to promote.

For more information on the support group and how it helps, call or text 07377 430242, or email info@nhpcsg.org.uk, or visit nhpcsg.org.uk.