A butcher with cancer is raising money for research and awareness about the disease that doctors discovered in him after he went for a checkup following a drink with his brother.
Mick Kirk, from Northallerton, who runs Angus Morton Butchers, in Richmond, found out in September last year that he had prostate cancer.
Since then he has gone through hormone therapy and 37 treatments of radical radiotherapy.
Mick, 59, told how he only got checked out after going for a drink with his brother.
“We went to one pub and after a pint I went to the toilet,” he said.
“We went to the next pub and half way down the next pint I had to go again — my brother said then I should get it checked out.
“I thought it might just be a water infection, but was told it was cancer. As anybody knows who has been sat down and told they have cancer, the bottom falls out of your world.
“I had very morbid thoughts and i don’t mind admitting it.”
The disease has spread to his lymph glands, however Mick says the doctors thankfully have the cancer under control.
“When they’re telling you they will see you in six months it’s a lot better than them asking to see you next week,” he added.
Mick’s family and staff at the Richmond store wanted to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK after his diagnosis and have organised to run a Tough Mudder challenge on July 27.
A group of 18 people will take on the challenge.
Daughter Amy set a target of £300, however the total now stands at around £2,800.
many customers at the butchers shop have made generous donations, with several giving £100 each.
As well as raising money for research, Mick is keen to raise awareness about the condition and urges all men to read up on the symptoms.
These include:
- difficulty starting to urinate or emptying your bladder
- a weak flow when you urinate
- a feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
- dribbling urine after you finish urinating
- needing to urinate more often, especially at night
- a sudden urge to urinate – you may sometimes leak before you get to the toilet.
Mick said: “Prostate cancer will affect one in eight men and that falls to one in four if someone in your family has had it.
“With breast cancer and testicular cancer there are outward signs you might have cancer, but you don’t get those with prostate cancer.
“It’s one of the most manageable cancers out there, but the sooner it’s detected the better all round.”
Donations can be left at the shop in Finkle Street, Richmond, or made online by clicking here.
For more details on the symptoms of prostate cancer click here.
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