Talking balls

Very funny talk this evening at Round Table, from Darren Couchman – an Essex man who survived testicular cancer and wants to use humour to stop others suffering. 1 in 3 people will be affected by cancer of some kind; 1,800 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer in the UK each year.

Most men with testicular cancer can be cured. It's most likely to occur in young and middle-aged men. But most men don't like talking about it. The attention given to male-related cancers tends to be much less than for female-related cancers.

It seemed very appropriate to have Darren along to Round Table as most of those affected by testicular cancer are in the Round Table age bracket, 16-44.

Darren toured last summer, as he puts it "talking balls all across the country". He uses humour to get people over their embarrassment of talking about it, and he has written a book about his experience.

As he recovered from his operation, the catering lady asked if he wanted tea and whether he wanted "One lump or two". Hence the book title and website: One Lump Or Two – which reports on his tour, tells you more about the disease, what to do about it.

He was interviewed about his tour on the BBC.

Round Table will be looking at how they can help his publicity efforts coming up this June and July.