'It felt like fate': The personal story behind Prostate United's campaign star

For Romaine Carter, who stars in our latest campaign film, Prostate United represents something bigger than football rivalries. 

A lifelong Liverpool supporter inspired by John Barnes, he's watched as the Liverpool and Reds legend shared his own experience of prostate cancer, bringing a new connection to the player Romaine once watched from the stands. Now, Romaine's swapping the red shirt for the Prostate United kit in the hopes of saving more men’s lives this October.

For 31 days, he’ll join supporters from clubs across the country who are walking or running to raise money that will help fund lifesaving prostate cancer research.

Speaking on the importance of the challenge, Romaine said, "football is a beautiful game, but football coming together to tackle prostate cancer is even more powerful."

And, as Romaine knows, this campaign means even more when the cause hits close to home

Find out more about Prostate United and how you can get involved

More than a campaign: a personal reason to make a difference

Appearing in the Prostate United campaign wasn't just another job for Romaine.

In the weeks before filming, he discovered that two members of his family had prostate cancer. One of them, his Uncle Bernard, had recently been told he may only have weeks left to live.

So when an audition for a football fundraising film for us landed in his inbox, the timing felt impossible to ignore.

"It felt like fate,” says Romaine. “I'd just found out that both of my uncles had prostate cancer, and suddenly I had the chance to be involved in a charity campaign raising awareness of the disease."

Romaine says that connection was one of the reasons he was so determined to be involved.

He showed the audition to his mum and immediately felt there was a reason it had come his way.

For someone who doesn't work in medicine or research, being part of a campaign like this felt like a special way Romaine could make an impact on men's lives.

A family's experience

Romaine first became aware his Uncle Bernard's situation had worsened after seeing a photo shared in a family group chat.

Although he knew his uncle once had prostate cancer, he hadn't realised the disease had returned or how serious things had become.

Concerned, he quickly called his cousin to find out more.

What followed was difficult news.

Doctors had told the family that Bernard may only have weeks left to live. Hearing this spurred Romaine to action and he quickly made the journey from London to Leicester to spend time with his uncle while he could.

Then, just a week or two before filming, another diagnosis hit the family. This time it was his grandmother’s brother. 

"My grandmother knew but wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Unfortunately, she's not very good at keeping secrets."

His uncle's response to the diagnosis also left an impression. Approaching 80, he didn’t want family members making a fuss over him. He simply wanted to get on with things.

It’s an attitude that can be familiar among men, particularly when it comes to talking about their health or admitting something’s wrong. But it shouldn’t be this way. 

The importance of conversation

Those experiences reinforced something Romaine already believed: more conversations about men's health are urgently needed.

"As men, we often aren't open about our health. We tend to brush things aside and get on with our lives rather than talk about what's wrong."

He also recalls losing a friend to cancer several years ago. Although the diagnosis came shortly before his friend's death, Romaine knows the disease had been present for much longer.

For him, that highlighted the need for more awareness, so that more men know when to seek advice and what potentially life-saving action they can take.

A shocking statistic

Through his involvement with the campaign, Romaine also learned more about his own risk of prostate cancer.

As a Black man, he knew he faced a higher risk than average, but he couldn’t believe how significant that risk was.

"I knew that Black men were at greater risk of prostate cancer, but I didn't realise the statistic was one in four. That really shocked me."

The statistic made him think differently about his own health and the importance of understanding risk.

Bigger than football rivalry

Club football might tell us which side we’re on. Prostate United gives us something we can all stand behind.

Romaine hopes that by getting involved in Prostate United this October, he can help other men understand their risk and make sure those open conversations about prostate cancer are happening.

Watch Romaine talk about his family's experience of prostate cancer, why he wanted to be involved in the campaign and what he hopes people take away from it.

Find out more about Prostate United and how football fans across the UK are coming together this October.