Call for action to beat prostate cancer as EastEnders’ Stan Carter loses battle with disease

As the Carter family deal with the tragic loss of beloved patriarch Stan Carter, Prostate Cancer UK calls for people to get on board with its Men United campaign to help stop more men like Stan from losing their lives in the future.
The leading men’s health charity, which played a key role in advising EastEnders script writers, hope the awareness gained through the hard-hitting storyline will inspire viewers to take action to tackle the disease head on.
Prostate Cancer UK’s Chief Executive Owen Sharp said: “Every hour in the UK a family like the Carter’s suffers the devastating loss of a loved one to prostate cancer. I am impressed by the EastEnders Team, for their skill in portraying the delicate issues which surround such a terrible time. We want fewer men’s lives to end the way Stan’s did. That’s why we are calling on everyone to sign up to Men United to help reach a future where all men survive and live a better quality of life.
“EastEnders have shone a spotlight on the issue - creating conversations about prostate cancer on social media, in the press and on many sofas at home. Now – if we are to truly beat this disease once and for all, we need as many people as possible to take action. Action to raise funds for vital research, action to campaign for access to treatments, action to ensure men get to grips with their own risk. All men, like Stan, are worth fighting for. Only by facing up to this disease as a nation are we going to beat it.”
Timothy West CBE, leading British actor who plays Stan Carter in the show has himself signed up to Men United. He said: “Stan was probably the archetypal bad patient. He was very slow in thinking about his condition and recognising what it might be. He was slow to seek diagnosis, slow to act on the diagnosis and reluctant to see doctors. He was terrible really, something we should all look at and not do the same.
“What Men United seeks to do, and it’s terribly important, is to hold out a hand to people to say come on, you will see people here with whom you can swap experiences, swap ideas, swap thoughts, swap feelings. You don’t have to stand there and wait for people to come, because they won’t. You just need a little push and you will like it when you get there.”
As well as campaigning for change and spearheading ground-breaking research, Prostate Cancer UK also supports men by giving them the facts around prostate cancer. Anyone who is affected by the issues faced by Stan, and the Carters, can phone one of Prostate Cancer UK’s specialist nurses, on 0800 074 8383, download information from its website prostatecanceruk.org, or speak to their GP.
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