This weekend, Sunday 18 June, and every third Sunday of June in the UK is Father’s Day. Our colleagues in Spain have already celebrated their equivalent, Dia del Padre in March, where they celebrate the Feast of St Joseph.
Celebrating Father’s Day means something different to each of us, but in general, we’re recognising the impact fathers have had on us, our families, and our communities.
Former US President Barack Obama famously said: “Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognise and honour how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches. They are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it.”
At phs Group, we are very aware of the impact that fathers have across our business, as a workforce comprising of around 70% men. We know we’re only as good as the people we work with, and we’re so grateful for the hours fathers, men, and the whole team put in day after day to help us do the right thing.
Doing the right thing is why we partnered with Prostate Cancer UK to launch our Dispose With Dignity campaign, and why we are committing to raising funds for the charity in the future.
Prostate Cancer affects one in eight men, rising to one in four black men. One in eight or four fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and sons. As Prostate Cancer UK’s newest campaign highlights, prostate cancer is known as ‘a good cancer’. A cancer which, if caught early, can mean very high survival rates. And it’s true, that we’ve seen a change in prostate cancer survival rates from 25% in the 1970s to 84% in 2010.
But again – as Prostate Cancer UK’s campaign highlights, this doesn’t mean it is a good cancer. While the prostate cancer survivors we have worked with, alongside many from our own team have shared stories that inspire us – they have suffered – and they shared their journey with a goal in mind.
Their ambition and ours is the same - to raise awareness, to break taboos, to get businesses and the general public to demand change and basic facilities for men suffering urinary incontinence, a side-effect of life saving prostate cancer surgery.
This Father’s Day, we are asking our colleagues, suppliers, stakeholders, and family members to do one thing – to check their risk or encourage your loved ones to check their risk.
Checking your risk of prostate cancer is easy and takes just a few seconds. You can use Prostate Cancer UK’s risk checker here, and find out more about the symptoms of prostate cancer, and read about the journey of survivors supporting our campaign on our campaign page, Male Incontinence Matters.
