Southend fan had the Chris of life!

Shrimpers fan urges vital checks for NLD

By Matt Badcock

HEARTFELT: Southend United fan Keith Smith, right, with Chris Powell

SOUTHEND UNITED fan Keith Smith says the Shrimpers helped save his life and he’s urging other men to check their risk as Prostate Cancer UK teams up with Non-League Day for the eighth year.

In the build up to this year’s annual Non-League celebration on March 26, Prostate Cancer UK is calling on football fans to not only find their fixture on the ground-breaking match-finder database on the webpage, but to check their risk of prostate cancer thanks to the 30-second risk checker.

One in eight men in the UK will be affected by prostate cancer, one in four if you are black, but it remains very treatable if caught early.

With this in mind, Prostate Cancer UK have teamed up with NHS England to find the 14,000 men whose prostate cancer has gone undetected because the pandemic.

Long-time Southend supporter Smith says simply logging onto the club’s website in 2018 to see if they’d made any signings sparked a series of life-saving events after reading about then-boss Chriss Powell

He said: “I was looking to see if there was any news on us signing a player, and I saw an article on there with Chris Powell regarding prostate cancer. I found myself reading about the symptoms, and I thought, ‘That’s me, I’ve got one of them symptoms’.

“From there I looked it up further and eventually went to the doctor, and after a range of tests it was confirmed I had prostate cancer.

“I knew very little about prostate cancer before then. My dad had it, my uncle had it as well and I didn’t realise it was hereditary; I never realised I was such a candidate to get prostate cancer.”

It was during a scan that a cancerous kidney mour was also spotted, and Keith has since had his kidney removed, and has also had further brachytherapy treatment on his prostate cancer.

He added: “I’m grateful to the work Pros- tate Cancer UK have done. Without that, who knows where I’d be now?

“It’s vital that men under-stand their risk. I’ve first-hand experience of the wonderful support of Prostate Cancer UK, and their 30-second risk checker is a vital tool to help men.”

Smith now has a picture of former boss Powell, 63, by his desk as a reminder.

When Powell was at the helm at Roots Hall his work with Prostate Cancer UK saw him complete the 2018 London Marathon, raising £14,000. The charity were also proudly on the front of the Shrimpers kit in 2018-19.

“I want to say thanks to Chris and Southend United. I’m so grateful to the work they’ve done.”

Proud partners of Non-League Day since 2014, Prostate Cancer UK will be urging fans tto be aware of their risk of the most common cancer in men and take the 30-second test.

Find out about your prostate cancer risk here