Norfolk brewer pushing beer barrel over 200km to raise awareness of testicular cancer
David Holliday from Moon Gazer Ales in Hindringham is currently making the trip from his base to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London
Last updated 5th Apr 2022
A Norfolk Brewer is pushing a barrel of beer over 200km to raise money and awareness about testicular cancer.
David Holliday, co-owns Moon Gazer Ales in Hindringham and is making the trip from his base to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.
He's currently over half-way there after starting the trip on Thursday and is doing this for local cancer charity, It’s On The Ball.
Mr Holliday told us why he decided to take on the challenge: "Fred Riseborough who was 24 years old had a bit of discomfort and a bit of a cough. He ignored it, went to the doctors and ultimately died.
"But, if he had of been checking himself regularly and looking for the symptoms he'd be here today and he'd be having a normal life.
"That is the thing, it's either a 98% success rate that you are going to live or sign your own death certificate, just by not checking yourself and understanding the cancer".
He told us it's quite a challeng, but that it's going to be well worth it: "It is daunting to be honest, but then I look at what people are doing on the JustGiving page, the messages that they are leaving and the people sending their best wishes. We just don't know, but they may have had people who have suffered with the cancer.
"They are very supportive of it and it does make you think, this is worth doing and we are going to get some results from this.
"A little bit of pain for me and not being able to walk in eight days time properly is a small prices to pay really".
He concluded by telling us that the issue just can't be a taboo topic anymore: "Even if they just google, testicular cancer or 'On the Ball' we are halfway there.
"But, obviously raising money is great as well because the charity can then use that to support sufferers of the cancer, but also a lot what they do is they go into schools and talk about it, in the same way that breast cancer charities had to break that stigma about ten years ago.
"Partly the issue is that this is a young persons cancer and young people tend to think that cancer is an old persons disease.
"So, that's one of the problems that we need to communicate as well. If you're a fit 24 year old playing football on a Saturday, you're a target for this cancer not a fifty or fifty-five year old man".
Survival Rates
According to 'On The Ball', 98% of cases can be cured if diagnosed early, but finding it late means people are less likely to survive it.
In Norfolk and Waveney, there were 119 cancer deaths in 2020 per hundred thousand under 75s.
That's lower than the average for England, which was 121 in every hundred thousand.
It comes as MPs have raised concerns that we could see the cancer survival rate reverse in England due to the impact of the pandemic.
Some are concerned fewer are coming forward to check symptoms and they're concerned treatments were delayed.
There are also fears that staff shortages are having an impact on early diagnoses.