GOLF captain Geoff Wall has used his personal battle against the most common cancer in men aged 55 and older to inspire a fundraising effort that raised £1,650 for charity.
Mr Wall, captain of the Barnard Castle club’s men’s seniors section, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019 and having undergone treatment has been given the all clear.
During his year as captain he adopted Prostate Cancer UK as his chosen charity, raising funds through golfing competitions, raffles and donations from members.
Mr Wall said he had also taken the opportunity to spread the word about the symptoms of prostate cancer.
“It has affected me and it affects mainly men aged over 55 – and members of the seniors at the golf club are all over 55,” he said.
Mr Wall said he was “exceptionally pleased” with the amount raised for the charity.
He handed the money over to Robin Millman, a volunteer with Prostate Cancer UK covering the North East region, at a special seniors lunch.
Mr Millman said he accepted the cheque with the heartfelt thanks of all those men the money would help, either through information, support or research into the disease.
He told golf club members: “Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer with one in a eight at risk in certain categories.
“It means 50,000 men a year are diagnosed and 12,000 die every year from prostate cancer. Every 45 minutes one man dies from prostate cancer.
“These are difficult figures to get your head around,” he added.
Mr Millman thanked the golfers for their support and also offered advice to anyone who wished to know more about the disease.
