For a sixth year, Male Uprising Guernsey (MUG) is once again bringing back its #BeardUp fundraising campaign. Each November the charity asks men to ditch their razor and embrace their facial fuzz for a month. Previous years have been extremely successful, having raised funds to go towards the purchase of various pieces of medical equipment. This year is no different, with the charity looking to raise money to buy a prostate fusion scanner for the Princess Elizabeth Hospital (PEH).
Having a Prostate Fusions Scanner on-island means that patients won’t have to travel to Southampton, which can leave them waiting up to six months for their results. The prostate fusion scanner allows more accurate detection of prostate cancer by biopsy, as the MRI image is fused onto the ultrasound image during the biopsy to locate the lesion, resulting in greater accuracy and reducing the number of biopsies taken.
Around 16 men die from prostate cancer each year; early diagnosis can make a big difference to treatment options and long-term outcome. This scanner will enable prostate mapping, allowing doctors to more precisely map where the cancer is ahead of treatment.
Dan Collins, MUG committee member, said: “The #BeardUp campaign has been a regular fixture in the Guernsey calendar for the past six years and always gains great support from the community. We hope that this year the support will be even stronger thanks to the #GuernseyTogether spirit.
“Our aim is to raise £20,000 to go towards the purchase of this scanner which will help in the early detection of prostate cancer in men of the Bailiwick. We know that many men ditched their razor over lockdown and embraced their facial hair, but we’re asking men to start afresh this November and regrow their beard for the month”.
Throughout the month participants are encouraged to share their photos on social media using the #BeardUp hashtag. For more information regarding the #BeardUp campaign and MUG, please head to their website or their Facebook page.
