How your support of ‘Find it Earlier’ and Omaze is already making an impact for earlier diagnosis

In the UK right now, 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer, and you’re at even higher risk if you’re Black or have family history of the disease. But the good news is that even though it’s the most common cancer in men, it’s also curable if found early enough.  

This reality lay at the heart of our ‘Find it Earlier’ campaign over the course of Men’s Health Week and Father’s Day. We set out to get thousands more men a lifesaving earlier diagnosis to help them live their life to the full, starting with a simple ask for men at risk to take our online risk checker. 

Reaching more men through the power of TV

We 'kicked off' on the May bank holiday, and to ensure we were unmissable for men across the country we launched our first TV advert at the FA Cup Final.  The ad urged men to check their risk online, while reassuring men that if they were high risk, the best test for prostate cancer is a simple blood test that they can get from their GP. This ad reached an incredible 436,000 men over the age of 45. 

Over the next few weeks, we showed up in some of the biggest TV moments at the start of the 'summer of sport', from the first match of the Euros as Scotland played Germany, to the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, making sure our message to 'Find it Earlier' was heard loud and clear by men at risk.  

And TV was just the start of it. On the radio our campaign could be heard on regional radio stations across the country and reached its peak with a takeover of talkSport to kick off Men’s Health Week! We were also making ourselves unmissable in newspapers and online publications across the country, from sharing stories of our supporters who got lifechanging earlier diagnoses with local newspapers, to celebrities and influential figures showing their support for our campaign, like writer Alex Wheatle’s piece in The Voice, Britain's only national Black newspaper. 

Hundreds of thousands check their risk

You answered our call and shared our message so that more men could be saved by an early diagnosis and spend more time doing the things they love with their family and friends. By working with us to share our 30-second risk checker far and wide over the course of Men’s Heath Week and Father’s Day, you helped us get over 250,000 people to take our online risk checker. That’s got the potential to save thousands of lives, and that’s all because of your efforts.

And you were joined in supporting our campaign by some famous faces. Celebrities and public figures across the UK also joined in on our biggest campaign of the year and took to social media to encourage men to check their risk. This included big names like Hugh Dennis, Michael Owen, Nick Owen, Rob Bell and many more. 

This #FathersDay here’s a reminder that might save your life.
The earlier you find #ProstateCancer the easier it is to treat. That’s more time for BBQs, holidays and watching the grandkids grow up.
It’s time you checked your risk online @ProstateUK:https://t.co/eafLwHiX9H pic.twitter.com/jyTyfbFPJK

— Michael Owen (@themichaelowen) June 15, 2024

On Father’s Day, while many of you joined us for our 10-minute takeover at Piccadilly Lights, many also chose to share their personal experiences with prostate cancer. Including Joe Inwood who shared his dad’s prostate cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, they caught it early and his dad is still here 20 years on. 

It’s (almost) Fathers Day, which I am happy to say I can still enjoy thanks to them catching my dad's #ProstateCancer relatively early. He's still here 20 years on.

The earlier you find it, the easier it is to treat.

Check your risk online with@ProstateUK pic.twitter.com/lXfDESzavL

— Joe Inwood (@BBCJoeInwood) June 13, 2024

Amazing results in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw

A first for Men’s Health Week and Prostate Cancer UK was our unforgettable partnership with Omaze. By joining forces with Omaze, we will be able to save even more men’s lives by helping to fund our biggest EVER research trial – the £42million TRANSFORM study. This study aims to test new ways of diagnosing prostate cancer and lead us to the first ever UK-wide prostate cancer screening programme for men. 

With the chance of winning an idyllic house in Surrey worth £3 million, you took part in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw. And in just six weeks you helped raise an incredible £3.45 million! Thank you for taking part and saving men’s lives. 

The winner of this amazing house and the £100,000 cash prize was Rachael Reid, a mother of three. This win has changed her life and the life of her family forever as her husband’s work often meant they spent weeks and many holidays apart. Now, they will be able to spend more time together as a family.  

Speaking on her life-changing win, Rachael said: 

This campaign generated over 500 pieces of news coverage in less than two months, an amazing feat which helped us reach even more men. Thank you to all those that supported the campaign. You can watch the Omaze house reveal video here: 

Breaking down barriers to early diagnosis

Sharing the risk checker and raising lifesaving funds towards a screening programme for prostate cancer are vital steps towards helping more men get an early diagnosis. However, we also knew we needed to break down the barriers that stop men from speaking to their GP about prostate cancer and getting a test. 

So to tackle these head on, we launched new research highlighting how fear of 'the finger' was putting men off checking their risk- when in fact the best test is a quick and simple blood test. This research helped us hit the headlines, with national news including Metro, Independent, Evening Standard and MailOnline. It was also covered by STV News in Scotland, BBC London, Virgin Radio UK, and many more.  

We were also featured on the Sketchplanations podcast hosted by our famous friend Rob Bell: Detecting Prostate Cancer, and the research was featured across our social media channels and formed the basis of a webinar that 230 people attended to find out more about how to break down barriers and have lifesaving conversations with the men in their lives.  

You’ve made life-changing strides towards a healthier future for men

Our success across Men’s Health Week and Father’s Day is down to your generosity and your collective effort to spread this vital message: the earlier you find prostate cancer, the easier it is to treat. Thank you so much for supporting this campaign and saving men’s lives. 

But we’re not stopping there! You can help thousands more men across the UK ‘Find it Earlier’ by continuing to share our 30-second online risk checker on your socials, via email or WhatsApp, or simply by telling your male friends, family and work mates to search “check my risk”. Together, we can help thousands more men get a lifesaving earlier diagnosis.