Stars Step Out In The Male Cancer Awareness Badge

Celebrities including Graham Norton and Coronation Street stars are supporting the everyman campaign by posing for the charity wearing the male cancer awareness badge, the 'Perkin' to help launch everyman's Male Cancer Awareness Month.

Graham Norton has been very supportive of the campaign. He said, "everyman Male Cancer Awareness Month is a great way to make men sit up and listen. It is time we woke up to problems which have been ignored for too long."

The Perkin is aimed not only at men but also at women, which is why shops such as La Senza and Contessa have come on board. Recent statistics show that embarrassment still prevents men from seeking medical advice yet women can play a pivotal role in encouraging the men in their lives to seek medical advice.

Jimmy Tarbuck said, "It is incredible that men are still too embarrassed to go to their doctors with concerns about their health. Join the battle against male cancer, buy a Perkin and together with the everyman campaign, we can cross out male cancers." cont…
The everyman Perkin is very different from traditional devices such as ribbons and flowers used by other charities to raise awareness of their causes. Created by London design agency sans+baum, it is inspired by the 'x' and 'y' chromosome structure which is unique to men.

Philip Black, Director of Fundraising at The Institute of Cancer Research said:
"By wearing a Perkin and donating £1 to the everyman campaign you will be helping to spread the message that men musn't be afraid to talk about their health and also helping to raise the vital research funds needed if we are to win the fight against male cancers. "

The Institute is home to the UK's first dedicated Male Urological Cancer Research Centre where research is carried out into many different aspects of male cancers. The centre needs £2 million annually and money raised from the Perkins will go directly towards supporting this vital research.

For more information and photos of the celebrities wearing the Perkin please contact Becky Webb in The Institute of Cancer Research Press Office on 0207 970 6030.

Notes to the editor:

• June 2002 will mark the fifth everyman male cancer awareness month.
• The Institute of Cancer Research is a centre of excellence with some of the world's leading scientists working on cutting edge research.
  
• The Institute set up the everyman campaign in 1997 to raise awareness of and funds for prostate and testicular cancers.
  
• The Institute works in a unique partnership with The Royal Marsden Hospital, which enables scientific discoveries to be translated quickly into patient care.
  
• The Institute was made a Centre of Excellence for prostate cancer research by the National Cancer Research Institute.
  
• The Institute is a charity that relies on voluntary income.