Local footballers are getting their kit off to help fight testicular cancer.
Pershore Town Football Club will be putting together a raunchy calendar to raise money and awareness of the disease as part of its Check Your Plums campaign.
The cheeky idea came to fruition after a player was diagnosed with testicular cancer at just 23 years old.
Plans for the project have been in the pipeline for some time but now that vision is set to become reality.
Jacqui Marler, club licensee and committee member, will be working with club secretary Hayley Tomkins to put together the calendar.
Ms Marler said: “Most local people are aware that our teams at Pershore Town are known as The Plums and, as a club, we have recently started a campaign to Check Your Plums.
“This came about back in 2019 when one of our players was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 23.
“Covid delayed the initial campaign, but we feel now is the right time to pick up our efforts.”
According to the NHS, testicular cancer mostly affects men between the ages of 15 and 49 and is relatively rare, with around 2,300 men diagnosed with the disease each year in the UK.
It is also one of the most treatable types of cancer with one of the best outlooks.
The NHS website states that 98 per cent of men survive for five or more years after diagnosis while almost all men treated for testicular germ cell tumours are cured.
On Pershore Town’s efforts to tackle the disease, Mrs Marler added: “We are going to produce a calendar, with the players and managers being the models, to raise awareness of testicular cancer and hopefully save lives.
“We are looking to launch the calendar in October and will make a weekend of it.
"We also hope to have a unit at the club where local men can come and get checked.
“Until then, we will give fans a sneak peek of the lads with their kit off on our social media pages and will be posting important information such as key symptoms and how lads can check themselves.”
Local photographer Sue Lloyd Cowley will be responsible for taking the pictures for the calendar which will be printed out by local print solutions firm Dolphin Tec.
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