Young Entrepreneur Shares his Epic Story to Raise Awareness of Male Cancer

A CHAMPION JOCKEY and a buddingentrepreneur from Bristol have formed an unlikely alliance to raise funds for prostate and testicular cancer during Movember.

In the midst of lockdown earlier this year when COVID-19 was at its worst, 18 year old Mitchell Toulson from Bristol had a testicular scare that changed his life.

Inmid-May, Mitchell woke up one morning to find one of his testicles had swollen.

He assumed he had slept awkwardly, but within hours his left testicle had grown to the size of an orange and he wasn't able to walk.

He panicked. His first thought was that he had testicular cancer.

Fortunately, his mum took him straight to A&E and from there he was rushed into the operating theatre.

The tubes to his left testicle had twisted, cutting off the blood supply.

The doctors decided that they had no choice but to remove the offending testicle or he ran the risk of losing the other one.The missing testicle wasreplaced with a prosthetic.

Although Mitchell initially suffered a loss of body confidence he was relieved that he hadn't contracted the dreaded cancer, and is determined to pay his good fortune forward.

Mitchell has teamed up with former top jockey Bob Champion to raise awareness and funds for male cancer during the week of Movember and he's doing it in a most original way.

He explains: "Movember reminds men of the importance of checking their parts. Men never check, but they absolutely should.

"I came across these edible accessories for the testicles and thought that they could act as a fun reminder to men to check out their tackle.

"The edible ball bands taste fruity and are designed to improve and exaggerate your manhood while also raising funds for research into male cancerundertaken by the Bob Champion Cancer Trust - https://www.bobchampion.org.uk/ 

"They will remind men to be diligent," he adds.

More men are now dying from prostate cancer each year than women are from breast cancer, making the male disease the third biggest cancer killer in the UK.

Mitchellcontinues: "I never knew that these are conversations we should be having, like knowingwhat your testiclesshouldfeel like."

Bob Champion MBE says: "I am delighted to be involved with any initiative that encourages awareness of male cancers, particularly testicular, as let's face it we men aren't so good aboutgoing to the doctors if we find a lump or something is worrying us.

"Early diagnosis is so important and we have to keep the awareness conversation going."

Mitchell says he had no experience of being in a hospital and was completely caught off guard by the testicular complications he suffered.

"More than three out of four suicides are committed by men, too, so Movember is a greatreminder to stay in touch with your mates and to be open to talking,"he says.

It is estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 men will develop testis cancer each year, so the chance of developing testis cancer is about one in 270.

Fortunately, the cure rate is excellent - greater than 95 percent for all men with testis cancer.

"The message to men is:You need to check your balls! The Ball Bands only cost£3.99andcanbepurchasedthroughwww.mrspalmer.co.uk," adds Mitchell. 

For further information contact Melanie Faldo at01234 721198orredcarpetcomms@gmail.com