Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation (IFCF) and Prostate Cancer UK have unveiled a branded lorry to support the research charity’s efforts to improve early diagnosis and tackle inequalities in prostate cancer outcomes.
While the HGV will travel nationwide, it will spend much of its time in the West Midlands, which is home to the largest black community outside London. The pair said the region was a key focus for Prostate Cancer UK’s awareness work, as one in four black men will get prostate cancer.
In the West Midlands alone, over 4,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, and just over a quarter (26%) are diagnosed too late for a cure.
The campaign will highlight that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the UK without a mass screening programme, and it is often symptomless at its earlier stages when it can be cured. Those at a higher risk include any man over 50, black men and men with a family history over 45.
“This lorry was a wonderful idea to raise life-saving prostate cancer awareness in an area that desperately needs it, and we were glad to make it happen,” said Iceland Foods group CEO Tarsem Dhaliwal, who is also trustee of IFCF and a Prostate Cancer UK ambassador.
“Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation is proud to have worked alongside Prostate Cancer UK for two decades, funding groundbreaking research and raising awareness of the most common cancer in the UK to help more men find it earlier, and to save more lives.”
Prostate Cancer UK head of partnerships James Steven added: “A huge thank you to IFCF for helping to keep men on the road with their lorry raising life-saving awareness.
“With the Midlands one of the areas of the UK where men are most likely to be diagnosed too late for a cure, this lorry has been hitting the road and doing vital work to get more men thinking about the UK’s most common cancer and taking 30 seconds to check their risk online with Prostate Cancer UK.”
The pair first began working together in 2008, with IFCF having donated over £1.5m to Prostate Cancer UK in that time.
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