AS READING marked Armed Forces Day this weekend, among the stalls on Broad Street was the Reading Prostate Cancer Support Group (RPCSG).
The charity aims to provide support to patients with prostate cancer as well as raising awareness about the condition among the general public.
RPCSG’s Andrew Gabriel said: “We still have a lot to discover about prostate cancer, but there’s so much more awareness of it than, say, five years ago.
“But there are sections of the community, particularly older residents, who aren’t quite as comfortable talking about it.
“Younger people are more open about it, and that’s a great way to spread the message to the older generations.
“We had people taking away flyers and information for their fathers and grandfathers.”
He explained: “But it’s something we need to work harder on, especially as, for example, black people have twice the incidence of prostate cancer and it also tends to happen at a younger age.
“We’ve always wanted to address that gap, but this year the mayor has selected a prostate cancer charity as one of his mayoral charities.
“So hopefully we’ll be able to meet with the mayor to go through in more detail how we can help in that area, which has always been of particular interest to me.”
He added: “It’s not a ‘lifestyle’ cancer; it doesn’t come by smoking, drinking, or eating too much– it comes as a surprise for everyone.
“So our group offers not only support for patients, but also further awareness in those who aren’t patients.”
More information about Reading Prostate Cancer Support Group is available via: rpcsg.org.uk
