Raising Awareness - Men Get Breast Cancer Too

As always Walk the Walk have been working hard to raise awareness... and not just for women, hence our #MenGetBreastCancerToo campaign. 

Thank you Richard, for sharing all about the day you joined forces with Walk the Walk and met five other men who all had breast cancer too!

“An interesting day spent with the Walk the Walk team on Tuesday 3rd October 2017.

The morning was hosted at No.83 Bar and Kitchen, Bermondsey Street where I met, for the first time, 5 five other men who had also had breast cancer. We spent some time over breakfast sharing our stories. Not at all surprising that lack of awareness and poor diagnosis were common threads running through our experiences. Included among us, was a GP who had never come across male breast cancer in 27 years of practice.

Time is a key element in halting the spread of cancer and for some of us that probably meant delays in diagnosis leading to more invasive treatment. I consider myself fortunate in this respect having met the other men. My initial diagnosis was questionable but I was fortunate to return to my doctor and get a correct diagnosis and surgical treatment before the cancer spread. A lesson learnt. Doctors are fallible and only a full investigation can lead to a correct diagnosis.

Great too to meet Nina Barough, Walk the Walk’s Founder and Chief Executive. I had a great many questions to put to Nina having taken part in this year's MoonWalk London, Walk the Walk's flagship event, and coming away thinking Walk the Walk need to do more for male breast cancer. I have come away seeing Nina as an inspirational leader, open to suggestions and with a clear vision of where to take the organisation.

The rest of the morning was taken up by interviews and photo calls with the media, a time-consuming exercise to ensure they got the right shots and a chance for all of us to tell our stories.

All of this facilitated by the lovely Walk the Walk PR team. Linda, Claire, Sally and Jen who looked after us and did an excellent job ensuring we were all doing what we were supposed to be doing at the right time. I have come away thinking that it is more important than ever to be continuing to spread the message that men get breast cancer too.

In the afternoon there was a quick trip over to the BBC at Portland Place for a short interview for BBC Radio Merseyside.

Then to Woking for a slightly surreal Reception at The Lightbox museum & gallery. ‘Bust Up!’ - an exhibition of bras designed for Walk the Walk including one from the McLaren F1 Team and one signed by Olympic cyclist Jason Kenny. Many of the bras were connected with Woking and based on local themes and the event was attended by the local Mayor. A novel idea which builds on Walk the Walk's signature bra theme and a really good way to gain media attention for the breast cancer cause. All in all, a great day with a great team.”

Richard Galloway

Early detection saves lives, so... girls and guys... get checking!

Walking the Walk is for men too... join us at next year's MoonWalk London... it's going to be 'Out of this World'... both boys and girls come and join us! 

Love Walking, Love Life!