Tom Daley, Bill Bailey, Trevor Nelson, Merlin Griffiths and other famous faces team up with Macmillan Cancer Support to help more men ‘Find The Words’ to talk about cancer

• New research from leading cancer charity Macmillan reveals that 250,000 men living with cancer in the UK are currently struggling with feelings such as fear, depression or worry because of their diagnosis
• Yet more than half (55%) of those affected have not sought any support for these feelings
  To raise awareness and get more men talking, award-winning photographer Ray Burmiston captures celebrities and people affected by cancer in a new series of moving photographs
• The photographs are being released today as part of Macmillan’s ‘Find The Words’ campaign which is on a mission to get men to open up about cancer and reach out for support

Macmillan Cancer Support has released a series of moving portraits as part of its ‘Find The Words’ campaign. Shot by award-winning photographer Ray Burmiston — who’s worked with the likes of Sir David Attenborough, David Bowie, Samuel L. Jackson and Helena Bonham Carter — the campaign features male celebrities and men affected by cancer to encourage more men to open up about their experiences and reach out for support.

This comes as new analysis by the charity reveals men with cancer in the UK often struggle to ‘find the words’ when it comes to discussing how they’re really feeling. Macmillan’s latest research estimates there are currently 250,000 men living with cancer across the UK (19%) who are struggling with feelings of sadness or depression, or worry, fear and anxiety, but despite this more than half (55%) of those who are affected have not yet sought any support with these feelings[i].

The powerful photo series brings together Olympic diver and television personality Tom Daley, comedian, singer and actor Bill Bailey, First Dates star Merlin Griffiths, DJ and presenter Trevor Nelson, singer songwriter Jay McGuinness, actor Colin McFarlane and British journalist Nick Robinson. The celebrities were photographed alongside inspiring storytellers Luke Madalura (LJ), Nick Summerfield, Jeremy Langmead, Rian Harvey, Conor McNish-Lane and Brian Quavar who have all personally been affected by cancer. The celebrities and storytellers have joined forces with Macmillan to break down barriers many men can face when it comes to talking, highlighting the importance of leaning on friends, family or Macmillan for support.

First Dates star Merlin Griffiths, 48, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2021. He has been undergoing treatment after a stage 3C, T4 tumour was found in his rectum. His latest scan (June 2023) showed no recurrence of his cancer. Merlin said: “Men are rubbish at opening up sometimes. Honestly, little things we will talk the hind legs off a donkey. The big things can be tough to talk about but when it comes to cancer, it’s incredibly important that we do talk.

“Initially, it was very difficult to talk about my cancer diagnosis, but then there was a penny-drop moment when you realise that talking about it is actually a good thing.

“The biggest thing you have to realise is that when you bottle it up, whether symptoms or diagnosis, you might think in your head you’re okay, but people will notice that you’re actually not. You will literally feel a burden unloaded once you let it out. Even if it is just one or two people you talk to.”

Jeremy Langmead who is a writer in his mid-50s had never had a serious health problem until he was diagnosed with aggressive stage 4 prostate cancer in October 2022. Jeremy was cancer free earlier this year, however his cancer has since returned. On the importance of talking, Jeremy said: “One of the hardest things about having an illness like this is having to try and protect everyone around you. I think it is important to normalise being ill, or having cancer, or even the prospect of dying.

“Having recently shared my story, I must have received hundreds of messages from people I have never even met. I realised that they sometimes felt more comfortable talking to a stranger about their cancer experience because they probably didn’t always talk about it so candidly with anyone else.

“What I’ve realised is, that you’ll find there’s always someone out there willing to talk. Whether that’s on social media or through forums such as the Macmillan Online Community. It’s not always easy but you’ll feel lighter and more useful for sharing. That’s what’s been a lovely thing about having cancer is discovering how supportive friends, families and complete strangers are. There is a genuine and very supportive community there for you.”

Men make up just over half (52%) of new cancer cases, with over 200,000 men in the UK diagnosed every year[ii]. Yet in 2022, only 38% of people with cancer contacting the Macmillan Support Line were men[iii]. This means many men with cancer are missing out on getting the support they need.

Chris Bolton, Service Knowledge Specialist on the Support Line at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “We continue to see fewer calls from men contacting the Macmillan Support Line, but we want men to know, that there is support available. We find many men hold back from talking, to protect the people around them, to not be a burden on their family, or a bother to their friends but it doesn’t have to be this way.

“Our specially trained nurses and advisers are at the end of the phone seven days a week (8am-8pm) for people living or affected by cancer, whatever they need to ask. There’s also our Online Community where men can chat anonymously if that feels more comfortable.”

Macmillan Cancer Support is doing whatever it takes to help people find the words to talk about cancer. It’s not easy to talk about cancer but it could help. Whatever questions people need to ask whether that be about work, money, life…Macmillan is at the end of the phone and online to provide support. Call 0808 808 00 00 or visit macmillan.org.uk/get-help and ask anything.

About Macmillan Cancer Support

At Macmillan, we give people with cancer everything we’ve got. If you’re diagnosed, your worries are our worries. We will move mountains to help you live life as fully as you can.

And we don’t stop there. We’re going all out to find ever better ways to help people with cancer, helping to bring forward the day when everyone gets life-transforming support from day one. We’re doing whatever it takes. But without your help we can’t support everyone who needs us. To donate, volunteer, raise money or campaign with us, call 0300 1000 200 or visit macmillan.org.uk

[i] Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,076 adults in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis, including 934 men. Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th March and 8th April 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of people living with cancer in the UK (aged 18+). By ‘struggling with’, we mean those who gave a score of 4 or 5 for these issues on a 5-point scale, where 5 represents an area that has been of ‘great concern’ in recent weeks. Those who reported concerns were then asked which they had accessed support for, and were asked to think about any support they may have received, whether from friends, family, healthcare workers or others. 250,000 figure estimated by applying the 19% figure to the 1.3 million men living with cancer in the UK. 1.3 million figure from: Macmillan Cancer Support. Cancer prevalence. Accessed May 2023

[ii] Macmillan Cancer Support estimated that there were a total of 392,697 new recorded cases of all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer), of which 202,910 in men and 189,787 in women, for 2019 in the UK, by combining published figures from NHS Digital, Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland and Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU). We have used 2019 as the reference year here due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on figures for 2020 and 2021

[iii] Macmillan Cancer Support internal data. Refers to 1st January 2022 to 31st December 2022. During this time we estimate that that the Macmillan Support Line directly supported 37,997 females with cancer, 22,810 males with cancer and 1,698 people with cancer for whom we did not record a gender. Please note that these figures represent a subset of all the people supported by the Macmillan Support Line. Comparable records exist for the previous three years.