A campaign has been launched to raise awareness of cancer among male construction workers, after a survey found many may be ignoring symptoms of the disease.
Don’t Let Cancer Ruin Your Foundations has been set up by Macmillan Cancer Support in partnership with some of the UK’s biggest building firms.
It follows a poll of 600 men working in the sector carried out for the charity which revealed that 43% would not want to talk about symptoms such as a lump or a suspicious mole, in case it was thought they were “making a fuss”.
In addition, the results show that 23% of those who took part in the survey admitted they would feel discouraged from seeking help because they were too embarrassed.
The new campaign is being run in conjunction with firms including Travis Perkins, Benchmarx Kitchens & Joinery, Kier Group, Costain, Selco Builders Warehouse, and Wolseley UK.
It will see the companies work together to raise awareness of cancer and the work of Macmillan, as well as encouraging men to seek medical advice where it is needed.
Alison Rodgers, Health and Safety Strategy Manager at CITB, commented: “Macmillan Cancer Support’s new campaign will help start conversations that could potentially save the lives of many construction workers.
“Raising awareness about health and safety issues is of the utmost importance to CITB, so it’s really encouraging to see so many construction firms engaging in this worthy campaign.”
In a separate survey carried out for Macmillan, 14% of the 985 men polled said they would avoid going to the doctor with symptoms such as lumps or moles.
This is despite the fact that the findings also showed that 38% of men have been kept awake at night because of concerns over their health.
Senior Macmillan information nurse, John Newlands, said: “It’s really important that both men and women are aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer and that they report any changes to their health as early as possible.
“We often find that men don’t know what they should look out for, or that they feel embarrassed or unsure when talking about these changes.”
