Protecting one’s manhood is never far from the mind of paintball male players. But a new paintball site - GoNuts Paintball - has gone a step further. It is donating £5 to the male cancer charity Everyman with every paintball package booked. The Everyman campaign, which has been supported by a host of celebrities such as X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary, pop star Robbie Williams, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and comedian Ricky Gervais, raises awareness of, and funds research into, prostate and testicular cancer. There are over 37,000 cases of male cancer every year in the UK alone. In fact, prostate cancer has overtaken lung cancer as the most common cancer in men. While testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men aged 15-44, it is now 99 per cent curable if caught early. Everyman aims to raise awareness of male cancers and help overcome some of the traditional male reticence about health down under – and that’s not referring to Australia.
X-Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary said: ‘Having had personal experience of a loved one who has suffered from cancer I am delighted and proud to be a patron of Everyman.’
Mayor of London Boris Johnson added: ‘One of the best defences against cancer is being aware and taking care - so don't be embarrassed chaps - look after yourselves and check for those telltale signs.’British comic Ricky Gervais has given his support to Everyman by urging men to get involved: ‘Everyone can do something to eradicate prostate cancer. Come on, pull your finger out. Unless you are a qualified doctor. In which case you know what to do,’ said Ricky.Male cancer affects men of all ages, and as fathers, sons, husbands, brothers and friends touches many lives. The incidence of male cancer is rising rapidly, yet we still do not know why. Despite this, and the fact that it affects so many men in the UK, research into male cancer is severely under-funded. Everyman has set up the only dedicated male cancer research centre in Europe to investigate the causes of these cancers and to improve diagnosis and treatment for thousands of men.
If you want to talk balls, for painted ones, go to GoNuts: http://gonutspaintball.co.uk/
