A life-saving men’s health screening programme is coming to Uttoxeter – with the help of a £750 donation from digger giant JCB.

Uttoxeter Lions Club has announced it will be holding its annual Prostate Cancer Screening event on Thursday 5th June at Oldfields Sports Ground in Springfield Road, Uttoxeter.

The event, which will deliver 500 free PSA blood tests to men over the age of 50 in the Uttoxeter area, will help to detect the early signs of the cancer which affects more than 50,000 men every year. If left untreated prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men, can spread, so early detection through screening is crucial.

Terry Adams, one of the volunteers at Uttoxeter Lions Club, who himself benefited from the screening programme two years ago, said:

For the last 11 years Uttoxeter Lions Club has provided free prostate cancer screening in the town. Each year we find that 5% of those tested require further testing, or early treatment for Prostate Cancer. In 2023 I was one of that 5% and fully appreciate the benefits our events provide. I couldn’t be more grateful to JCB for their support which will help us to save lives through early diagnosis and treatment.”

JCB’s donation will help to provide around 30 lifesaving screenings with the club using funds from their Party on the Pitch fundraiser on the weekend of Friday 6th to Saturday 7th June and other donations to make up the £14,000 needed to offer the free lifesaving screening.

To mark their 50th anniversary the club will be offering an additional 100 tests this year to reach their 500@50 milestone. Each test, which has to be pre-booked, takes a few minutes with a sample of blood taken by NHS registered phlebotomists and sent to a laboratory to assess how much of the prostate cancer detecting protein PSA is in the blood.