Know Your Risk: Unite South West Launches Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign

Unite South West has launched a new Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign, working in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK to improve awareness, encourage earlier diagnosis and give workplace representatives practical tools to support members.

More than 50 Unite representatives took part in the regional launch at Tony Benn House in Bristol, with others joining online. The event brought together campaigners, union representatives and people with personal experience of prostate cancer to discuss the importance of recognising risk and getting checked when concerns arise.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the UK, with around 1 in 8 men diagnosed during their lifetime. The risk is even higher for Black men, at around 1 in 4. The campaign also highlighted concerns around late diagnosis, particularly as there is currently no national prostate cancer screening programme in the UK.

A major focus of the campaign is therefore simple: know your risk, know what to look out for and don’t ignore concerns about your health.

As part of the campaign, Unite representatives will have access to a new workplace toolkit containing information and resources that can be shared with members. This includes guidance for workplace reps, materials to help raise awareness, support for discussions with employers and access to Prostate Cancer UK’s quick online risk checker.

The launch also included discussions around common myths surrounding prostate cancer and the experiences of people who have been personally affected by the disease. Hearing those experiences reinforced just how important awareness can be, particularly where prostate cancer is discovered at a later stage.

The campaign will now be rolled out across workplaces throughout the South West, helping to make conversations about men’s health more normal and ensuring members know where they can find reliable information and support.

Our message to members is simple: don’t wait until something feels seriously wrong before thinking about your health. Take a few moments to understand your risk and speak to your GP if you have concerns.

We will share further information and campaign resources with members as they become available.

Unite SW/8257 HPC Construction Branch