ICELAND FOODS PARTNERS WITH PROSTATE CANCER UK AND ASTONISH THIS FATHER’S DAY
This Father’s Day, Iceland Foods has partnered with Prostate Cancer UK and Astonish to raise critical funds and awareness for the thousands of men affected by prostate cancer.
This comes as the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation (IFCF) has pledged £500,000 to Prostate Cancer UK over the next four years to support their lifesaving work. Since 2008, the IFCF has donated £1million to save and improve the lives of men with prostate cancer.
Astonish Protect & Care limited handwash will be available in Iceland Food and Food Warehouse stores and on top of the IFCF contribution, Astonish will donate 1p per unit sold. The handwash bottles will come with a QR code linking to Prostate Cancer UK’s free online digital risk checker tool.
Around one million people have completed Prostate Cancer UK’s online tool to understand their risk, but many regions are being left behind in a ‘postcode lottery’. There’s huge variation in the likelihood of men being diagnosed when it’s too late for a cure. In London, 1 in 8 men (12.5%) with prostate cancer are diagnosed with advanced disease, rising to more than 1 in 3 (35%) in Scotland. Wales, Northern Ireland, and the North and Midlands of England are also shown to be negatively impacted.
Black men also face an increased risk of prostate cancer, with 1 in 4 Black men in the UK getting the disease – compared with 1 in 8 white men. The funds donated by Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation will be invested into addressing these geographical inequalities and proactively connecting with Black communities to gain greater insights into the barriers to prostate cancer awareness and detection.
Tarsem Dhaliwal, CEO of Iceland Foods, said: “At some point in their lives 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer, a statistic that is incredibly close to my heart as my father was one of them. There are huge inequalities in the barriers to diagnosis, that must be addressed and tackled. We have supported Prostate Cancer UK since 2008, and we know how critical their work is to saving, and improving, the lives of so many men. We look forward to continuing this support with our £500,000 pledge over the next four years.”
Laura Kerby, Chief Executive, at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Iceland Foods working with us to raise awareness of prostate cancer.
“We’d also like to thank Astonish for supporting and helping us reach households across the UK with our important and lifesaving health message. By scanning the QR code on the Father’s Day handwash bottles, men can check their risk of prostate cancer in less than 30 seconds. This online risk checker helps men separate the fact from the fiction and gives them accurate health information so that our Dads, brothers, sons and mates can make the right choices.
“Over 12,000 men die from prostate cancer each year in the UK, and it is the most common cancer in men. It poses a significant threat to men’s lives and currently there is no routine screening programme – this needs to change. We’re grateful for our incredible partners, like Iceland, who continue to support our lifesaving work and help turn these ambitions into reality.”
James Burr, Sales Director Astonish at Astonish added: “Like Iceland, Astonish really care about their customers and communities.
We are so proud our Protect and Care handwash was chosen to host the important Prostate Cancer UK risk checker that will help save lives.”
Astonish Protect & Care limited handwash is available to buy here
