Rugby legend Will Carling, Homeland<\/i> star Damian Lewis, Game of Thrones <\/i>hard man Charles Dance, Sir Michael Parkinson and football pundit Mark Bright \u2013 plus many more of Britain\u2019s most iconic figures – have signed for Men United, a unique team launched today by comedian Bill Bailey at The Football League HQ.<\/p>\n
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\u2018Men United v Prostate Cancer\u2019, a punchy and unashamedly masculine campaign using the language of sport to engage the nation\u2019s men, is the brainchild of Britain\u2019s foremost male health charity, Prostate Cancer UK.<\/p>\n
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In his role of Men United ‘Team Manager’, Bailey fronts the campaign. It kicks off with a national television message, filmed at the home of Millwall FC, which debuts to millions of viewers during football coverage on ITV1, Saturday 25 January, when AFC Bournemouth host Liverpool FC in the FA Cup fourth round.<\/p>\n
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In the 30-second advert, which premieres at half-time, around 1.45pm, he calls on men from all walks of life to sign for Men United, adding their weight to the new movement to beat the devastating \u2018dad\u2019s disease\u2019 once and for all. The meaty message will be screened more than 6,000 times across numerous platforms, and it is part of a multi-channel, nationwide campaign which is hoped to be the biggest for men\u2019s health the country has ever seen.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe need men to sign for the team in their thousands. Clubs, pubs, individuals – let\u2019s get everyone on the team. It\u2019s easy – just search Men United online and you\u2019re in! We\u2019re determined to make this as massive for blokes as the breast cancer campaign has been for women,” said Bill, whose own father-in-law is one of the 250,000 men in the UK living with the disease.<\/p>\n
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Top names from sport, the arts and industry – many with personal stories of the destruction inflicted by the disease on a man\u2019s life – have already signed for Men United and now join \u2018gaffer\u2019 Bailey in urging the nation\u2019s men to sign up to fight the apathy and neglect surrounding one of the UK\u2019s biggest man killers.<\/p>\n
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Former England rugby captain Carling is at the forefront of the campaign and said: \u201cI\u2019ve played in some big matches in my rugby career and faced some fearsome opponents but prostate cancer is a challenge like no other. That\u2019s why I was delighted to become part of Men United. This movement of men aims to raise awareness and start the ball rolling in kicking this killer disease in to touch. 250,000 men in the UK are suffering from prostate cancer \u2013 that\u2019s enough to fill Twickenham more than three times. \u00a0We all need to stand together to combat this threat. We can win this.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI know how devastating cancer can be,\u201d he added. \u201cI lost my Mum to this terrible disease. So I\u2019m proud to be an ambassador for Men United and work with Prostate Cancer UK, an organisation that works tirelessly to get this hugely important subject on the agenda, not to mention raising vital funds for the research that will make change. So please join me and sign up to Men United –\u00a0so we can make men\u2019s health a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Ex-Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday striker, and regular BBC football pundit Bright, is another of the first recruits, stating: \u201cI\u2019m urging all men to sign up to Men United \u2013 we should all know the risk we face. As a black man my risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer is much higher than a white man\u2019s of the same age – it\u2019ll hit one in four black men. That\u2019s quite a penalty. So come on guys, this is a team we all need to be in and the fight against prostate cancer is one we need to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Damian Lewis, who plays the edgy character Brody in the hit US series, <\/i>was also quick to put his name to the campaign.\u00a0 A father in his 40s, the actor said: \u201cI\u2019m not yet 50 but one day I will be and\u00a0that\u2019s when a man\u2019s risk of prostate cancer spikes.\u00a0 I\u2019m joining Men United because it\u2019s about hammering a disease which kills 10,000 men in the UK each year.\u00a0 Men United aims to tackle that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Each year almost as many men are diagnosed with prostate cancer as women are diagnosed with breast cancer. But research into prostate cancer is badly underfunded, leaving tests and treatments trailing behind other common cancers. And the quality and availability of treatment can vary across the UK.<\/p>\n
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Owen Sharp, Chief Executive at Prostate Cancer UK, is leading the charge to challenge injustice around the disease. He said: \u201cA man in the UK dies each hour from prostate cancer and another is diagnosed every fifteen minutes, yet in one year, England spent seven times more money on burning over-prescribed medicines than it did on prostate cancer research. That\u2019s obscene and our men deserve better.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHere, prostate cancer survival rates are below the European average, here research into the disease lags a decade behind that for other cancers, and quality of care depends on where you live. It\u2019s a scandal and we are not going to accept it. Men United is a powerful way for men, and the women in their lives, to mobilise against this common enemy. By signing up, you have a place and a voice in a growing movement that\u2019s taking action for men\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In a final rousing rallying cry, Men United\u2019s manager Bailey, added: \u201cOne in every eight of us will get prostate cancer. It\u2019s a deadly game but the message is, ‘we can win this’. Men United is about blokes wising up to their risk, manning up to face it, and stepping up to demand better care. Life isn\u2019t a spectator sport; it\u2019s about getting in there and being part of the solution. Prostate cancer has been the poor relation for far too long. That has to change and Men United is the team to change it. But it needs every one of us, so search Men United and join in.\u201d<\/p>\n
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During the integrated television, print and digital campaign, which is running until the end of March, men – and women – are encouraged to go online to search Men United and to get involved by testing their knowledge of the disease with a simple quiz, and signing for the team. They can also pledge their allegiance by proudly wearing the charity\u2019s iconic \u2018Man of Men\u2019 pin badge. To sign for Men United: www.prostatecanceruk.org\/menunited<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gender agenda: Celebrity squad \u2018mans up\u2019 for men\u2019s health Men United v Prostate Cancer challenges killer disease Rugby legend Will Carling, Homeland star Damian Lewis, Game of Thrones hard man Charles Dance, Sir Michael Parkinson and football pundit Mark Bright \u2013 plus many more of Britain\u2019s most iconic figures – have signed for Men United, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13725],"tags":[5675,5021,13726,6820],"class_list":["post-62653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-men-united","tag-cancer","tag-men","tag-prostate","tag-united"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62655,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62653\/revisions\/62655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}