A charity walk from Mountcharles to Downings was hailed a huge success at the weekend as two men conquered 100km and raised vital awareness of prostate cancer.
Joe Coyle, Thomas Given and supporters finished the walk on Saturday in 27 hours and four minutes, raising over €12,000 for Cancer Care West along the way.
“A huge thank you to everybody for your support along the way, it’s been a long couple of days, we are delighted to get through it,” said Joe at the finish line.
The tough challenge carried a simple but important message – Hi lads, get your prostate checked.
Joe, a prostate cancer survivor, personally benefited from the support of Cancer Care West throughout his treatment in recent years – leading to him wishing to give back to the service. The walking challenge stretched from Joe’s current homeplace, Mountcharles, to Downings, where he grew up.
Thomas joined Joe to do the walk in memory of his late brother, James Given, who passed away last year with cancer.
Their hope for the challenge is to encourage men over 45 to go to their GP and get their PSA number (Prostate Signal Antigen) which is a marker in the blood for Prostate Cancer) and become familiar with it.
“The first test or reading is the most important as all future tests are benchmarked against that one,” said Joe.
A message from Donegal GP and County Coroner Denis McCauley brought home the importance of their mission to highlight the subject of prostate cancer.
Dr McCauley said: “Along with heart disease and bowel cancer it is one of the commonest causes of premature death in males in Ireland. It is relatively straightforward for a general practitioner to rule out its presence by performing a simple examination and a blood test.”
Donations for Cancer Care West Donegal can still be made to: https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/JoeCoyle111. All proceeds go directly to the vital services which the cancer charity provide for men, women and children across Donegal who are on a cancer journey.
Find out more at www.getyourprostatechecked.ie
