All posts by Baggy Trousers UK

I noticed a small lump on my right testicle

Jack Hinton was just 24-years-old when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2019. The musical theatre actor who lives in London, shares his story about discovering a lump in his testicle, and the subsequent surgery. Jack, who’s now 26, sought support from Baggy Trousers UK following his diagnosis, and is returning the favour by hosting an online fundraising concert…

Jack said: ‘At first, I noticed a small lump on my right testicle and went to my nearest doctor to get it checked. I was assured by the doctor that it was nothing to worry about and all would be fine. The following week I then flew to Germany to start rehearsals for my next job. Two months later, I then realised that what was once a small lump had grown into the size of a large tennis ball. This was ultimately when I knew that something was not right and so, I went straight to a hospital in Germany where I was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

‘Four days after my diagnosis, I underwent surgery to remove the tumour. The staff at the hospital warned me that the tumour was an aggressive one, so they tried to get me into the theatre for surgery as soon as they could. I went in for my surgery and then had to stay in the hospital for five days. After this, I left the hospital to get back to resuming rehearsals but for the next eight weeks, had to come back to the hospital once a week for blood tests to ensure that I was keeping on the mend.

‘I am so pleased and relieved that my prognosis is now all clear and I aim to get a check-up every six months. Given that I was in Germany throughout my experience, I wasn’t aware of any UK based charities at the time. Baggy Trousers UK was one of the charities I researched when I returned home, and as soon as I got in direct contact with Jack [the founder], and we spoke about our experiences, I knew I picked the right charity. Seeing the support the charity offers is wonderful. When the idea came to me to host a show; I knew I wanted to associate it with a charity.

‘I hosted a concert on Thursday 3rd December 2020, at a theatre in London. I used my platform in this concert to share all about my story and experience, fighting testicular cancer. Throughout the show, I sang some songs, all of which mean a lot to me and have relevance to my story.

‘This concert was also professionally filmed and streamed online for £5 per ticket to raise funds in aid of Baggy Trousers UK.

‘Throughout my recovery period post-surgery, I felt alone and didn’t know how to be feeling or what the next steps to take were. I wanted to speak about this in my concert and with hope, resonate with others who may have felt like this also. It’s such an impactful event in one’s life, experiencing cancer and especially for men who are still carved out in today’s society to just ‘get on with it’ etc.; I feel I now have a duty from experience that I can share with others and with hope, help others to not feel so alone. To show my efforts in wanting to do this, I wanted to donate the money I raised through ticket sales and give it to an amazing charity raising awareness and support for others fighting the same battle.

‘To other men, my age, older and younger, I would say – CHECK YOUR NUTS! I do it once a week. Of course, the first couple of times it may be “scary” as one may not want to have to think about what they may find down there. However, it’s so worth it and nowhere near as scary as it being too late!

‘The body has an indescribable way of telling you that something’s wrong. Even after my first appointment with the doctor who assured me everything was ‘okay’, I knew in my heart of heart’s everything wasn’t. You can never be too careful and nothing is more important than your health and happiness.’

You can find Jack on Instagram @JACKHINTON__ (that’s a double underscore) Or on Twitter: @JACKHINTON_ (single underscore)

We need your support

Over the past five years we have reached over 3 million people online, delivered awareness talks to over 15,000 young adults and engaged with over 50 males directly affected by testicular cancer.

The generosity of our supporters has enabled us to make a real difference in our mission to offer emotional, financial and practical support to those directly affected by testicular cancer. Together ensuring that those affected receive the best possible support after a cancer diagnosis and throughout recovery.

As a small charity, we very much rely on supporter donations to deliver our charitable aims. The financial climate for charities like Baggy Trousers UK is particularly hard at the moment and our fundraising needs to be balanced with our focus on making an impact delivering life-saving educational talks and providing support to people directly affected by testicular cancer.

We need your help. I am writing this blog today to ask if you would be willing to offer your support in the form of a vital donation?

£25 could pay for our online support forum to run for one week, the forum gives people access to peer support online 24 hours a day.

£50 could pay for 1,000 awareness leaflets, designed to educate young adults on how to check themselves for the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer.

£100 could pay for the delivery of an awareness talk to a school or college helping young adults to learn all about testicular cancer and become confident in their own wellbeing.

Donations can be made:

Online via our website, www.baggytrousersuk.org/donate.

A regular donation through our monthly giving option via our website.

By cheque, please make cheques payable to Baggy Trousers UK and post to Richmond House, Hill Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, OL7 0PZ.

Any support you can offer will allow us to continue our life-saving work with young men.

Thank you in advance,

Yours sincerely,

Jack Broadley

Founder & CEO of Baggy Trousers UK

3 Ladies take on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks

On the 5th October, Sophie Bull, Hannah Albans and Sophie’s mother Jill will be taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in aid of testicular cancer charity Baggy Trousers UK. The challenge consists of taking on the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough totalling a massive 24 miles and 1585m (5200ft) of ascent in just under 12 hours.

In preparation for the challenge Sophie and Hannah bought new hiking gear, they made sure they met up when they were able to, to bed their boots in. Sophie and Hannah travelled up to Derbyshire to clamber up Mam Tor, down to the Chiltern Hills and walked as many local routes as possible ranging from 8 to 20 miles in length to get them ready for the challenge. In between these walks, they also attended the gym and different classes to help improve their stamina and general fitness.

Sophie, Hannah and Jill are taking on this challenge and raising vital funds in aid of Baggy Trousers UK after Sophie’s husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer in November 2018. Sophie became obsessed with researching the disease and always found herself looking on Instagram for success stories and UK testicular charities to follow to help with her research. This is how Sophie first came across Baggy Trousers UK.

Sophie’s husband Greg was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Luckily, it was caught early enough and after an operation and a small dose of chemotherapy he is, hopefully, now cancer free! Baggy Trousers UK made contact with Sophie after seeing a post of hers on Instagram where they were kind enough to offer their support to Greg. This meant a lot to Sophie at the time, therefore when it came to choosing a charity for their challenge Sophie thought of Baggy Trousers UK straight away. Sophie said “I wanted to raise money for a smaller, less known charity so I’m so pleased we were able exceed our target of £1000”.

“Guys… Get to know your testicles. Give them a check regularly and go to the doctors if something doesn’t feel right. It took my husband a while to pluck up the courage to go but there is no need to be scared! Nearly a year on from diagnosis, Greg is healthy and all blood tests are clear” said Sophie.

Sophie, Hannah and Jill would like to take this opportunity to thank all of their lovely family and friends who have made such kind donations to help them reach their target, and who have supported them through this tough year. Sophie personally wants to thank Hannah, who was a huge support for herself and Greg through his diagnosis and treatment and for wanting to complete this challenge with her. “I am so lucky to have her as a best friend! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!” said Sophie.

You can sponsor Sophie, Hannah and Jill via their online fundraising page: www.justgiving.com/sophandhan

Baggy Trousers UK is a survivor-led male cancer charity based in Greater Manchester, their aim is to educate people on the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer and actively promote the benefits of early detection. Baggy Trousers UK works hard to reduce embarrassment and save lives through our engaging awareness campaigns.

Baggy Trousers UK offers peer-to-peer support through a range of different activities that are organised monthly and quarterly. The activities are aimed to bring people together that have faced a diagnosis who share the same or similar thoughts and experiences. Baggy Trousers UK aims to provide emotional, financial and practical support to those directly affected by testicular cancer.

Baggy Trousers UK can be reached via telephone on 0800 772 3910 and email info@baggytrousersuk.org.

Music for Merrick

Founder Jack Broadley and Treasurer Jessica Rae attended Music for Merrick on Sunday 30th July 2017, a fundraising event in aid of BaggyTrousersUK.

Organiser Joely Mitchell said “I chose to raise money in aid of BaggyTrousersUK as my brother in law, Jamie, is currently fighting Testicular Cancer.

He is 12 months in and still has a long road ahead, but we are all very optimistic.  When we found out that Jamie had cancer, it obviously took us as a family, by total surprise. We were all so shocked and upset, but we’ve all pulled together to be there to support Jamie, Cara and their 3 children in whatever way we can.

I did a google search online to see if there were any charities out there that could provide extra support to Jamie, even just someone who’s fought or fighting it to be able to talk to Jamie, I felt it would be a massive help. It was then that I came across Jack Broadley and the charity he set up BaggyTrousersUK.

After reading his story, I felt that I absolutely had to do something more to support Jamie, but at the same time raise money for BaggyTrousersUK to enable them to keep spreading awareness about how to check yourself for testicular abnormalities that may otherwise go undetected until it’s too late, so I came up with the idea of ‘Music for Merrick’.

After speaking to Jack for some time on the phone and discussing my plans, it was full steam ahead to piece the event together and I am pleased to say that with 6 weeks of tireless planning, we did it!

We had over 400 people through the gates of Hemel Hempstead Football Club and had live music from a local band called UnderView and DJ Dan Cassidy, various food vendors, stall holders and inflatables for the children to play on.

The atmosphere was incredible and despite a 20 minute down-pour, the sun then came out and stayed with us for the rest of the day.

As a result of the event, I, along with my friends, Gemma Reynolds, Ben Whittle, Charlotte Hosier and James Hood, to name a few, managed to raise £817.83 which I am incredibly happy with.

I would now like to make this an annual event as a lot of people that came, asked if we were going to do it again. I feel that with 12 months of planning, instead of 6 weeks, next year’s event will be even bigger and better!!”

Jack said, “I’m so glad that Jamie was able to join us on the day and see how much support he has behind him, Jamie had just finished a round of chemotherapy treatment that morning, he was in high spirits all day! We’re very grateful for the support and funds raised on the day. I would like to personally thank Joely for doing such a great job in organising a fantastic event in such a short amount of time.”

If you would like to organise your own fundraising event in aid of BaggyTrousersUK visit our Fundraise section.

Bardsley Constructions 50th Anniversary

Yep! – We did it, we was granted £856.00 by Bardsley Construction via Forever Manchester!

So what do we plan to do with it?

We will be running a targeted social media campaign at males aged between 15 and 35 in Tameside and surrounding areas.

The population of Tameside is approximately 219,000+, with 49% of this number being males, we have a great audience to target and get the all-important message of check your testicles and how to perform a self-examination if they’re unsure of how to do this by using our website.

Our ultimate aim and goal with this funding is to increase awareness about testicular cancer predominantly in the Tameside area, we have found that if one person shares what we are posting then this can go to different areas and a much larger reach and engagement will be achieved.

We also attend awareness sessions and events where we set up an awareness stand with pop up banners, information leaflets, prosthetic testicles with tumors on and currently we have plain table cloths, we’re going to purchase two table cloths with the charity logo printed and the important message “Have the GUTS to check your NUTS” on there.

Here is a bit more information about the social media campaign we’re launching soon:

We plan to run a consistent social media campaign over the next seven months which will see us spending on average £100 per month in social media advertisements, from this we expect to achieve a total reach/engagement of over 15,000+ males. The approach we’re taking with the campaign is aimed to get the message out of how important it is to detect testicular cancer early in a humorous manner so that it reduces the embarrassment for males not wanting to go to the doctors or check themselves.

We’d like to thank Bardsley Construction and Forever Manchester for granting the money and helping BaggyTrousersUK move forward with the awareness.

Setting up a charity at 22!?

In this post I’m going to be talking about why and how I set up the charity BaggyTrousersUK.

I was diagnosed with stage two testicular cancer that spread to nearby lymph nodes in my abdominal area, the treatment to cure this lasted over 4-6 months.

I had no idea what I was checking for, when I attended a doctor’s appointment for a viral infection the doctor asked if there was anything else worrying me, it was at that point I let the professional take over and check for me to be sure and put my mind at rest.

Within a matter of days I was sent for blood tests and an ultrasound scan – it happened so fast before I knew it I was diagnosed with cancer aged 21.

Luckily they managed to find the cancer before it spread further onto other parts of my body such as lungs and brain. After finishing the treatment, a question wouldn’t leave my mind until I did something about it – how many other young men like myself are out there worried, not wanting to go to the doctors and unsure what they’re checking for.

I decided to do some research into the statistics and the other charities out there raising awareness of the condition and noticed there wasn’t any awareness going on in Greater Manchester.

With the support from other charities I decided to set up BaggyTrousersUK with the vision and aim to increase awareness around a condition that almost took my life and reduce late diagnosis by promoting regular self checking.

In the past twelve months I’ve met some amazing people with the same vision and aims as me, there was a lot of doubt at the beginning whether I was going to do this, it wasn’t a case of proving people wrong just merely getting on with it and finding that inner passion to raise awareness.

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” – Paulo Coelho

If detected early, the chances of survival are second to none, there’s also reduced side effects and less-intense treatment, this also reduces the risk of long-term side effects too.

Bungee in December – Are you MAD!?

Yes, that’s right I decided to have our first ever fundraising event as a bungee jump in the worst possible month of the year!

This post is to give you an insight into the first fundraising event organised for BaggyTrousersUK, the full details will be included in our annual report.

Upon setting up the charity I needed to organise a fun and thrilling fundraising event to generate funds to get the charity started/on its feet. You have to learn to walk before you can run they say, I certainly tried doing the opposite by setting the goalpost of committing to a minimum of 30 jumpers.

With the help from others I achieved the 30 jumpers for the original set date in November however Salford council couldn’t permit BungeeUK to operate on that date as there was a football match in the local area the same day.

When I re-scheduled around 10 jumpers couldn’t attend due to not being available on the new proposed date. We weren’t worried as there was still 20 jumpers and time to recruit more.

As time was ticking it was getting closer and closer to the event date, I still only had around 20 jumpers, I made the decision to contact BungeeUK to reduce our first proposed 30 jumpers to a new number of 20, sometimes you have to take the rough with the smooth and work with what you’ve got.

Each jumper was set to raise £100, anything more was a bonus! – One jumper did an amazing job in fundraising for us and achieved £420.

Leading up to the event the weather was still warmish and I had thoughts of it being quite warm conditions on the day of the jump, how wrong was I? on the 5th December 2014 the temperature dropped to around 2 °C and what made conditions worse we were jumping over Salford Quays dock that was open and exposed for wind to hit from all angles.

A lot of the jumpers did their jump and left pretty much straight after (I don’t blame them I’d of done the same), I had the best job of the day – making sure everyone was alright and organising jumping orders whilst doing two tandem jumps myself (I was scared of heights until after that day) the side effects from the chemotherapy saw myself and another cancer survivor freeze all day and its not good when you have Raynaud’s Syndrome

Overall, it was a fantastic day and I like to think everyone enjoyed it. I’d also like to thank everyone that was involved, if you would like to see the pictures from the day CLICK HERE.

Kick-about with Business

Looking back on the tournament it was great to see people coming together for a very worthwhile cause and showing their support.

The time and effort we have all spent organising the tournament in the 2 months leading up to it was 100% more than worth it.

 

The tournament brought together a mix of work colleagues, friends and family and the response from those involved has been very positive. 

We hope the event reminded people of what we are trying to do and introduced and informed others of our aims and objectives.

On the day we had a total of 10 teams competing in two groups. The top two teams advanced to the semi-finals. Well done to Wii Man FC for going all the way and taking the honours. 

Thanks to everyone involved and a special thanks to the following:

  • Volunteers on the day: Sandra Perrin, Richard Smith, Kevin Taylor, Andrew and Julie Wilkinson, Samantha Howe, Fiona Aspinall, Michael Howe and Bamo Nouri.
  • Yarwood Building Services for sponsorship of 1st prize.
  • Fisams Cakes and Buffet for producing a great selection of cakes along with a custom cake for us!
  • A W Photography for producing some amazing photos which will be available for download from their website and ours too, we will update once the edits have been made.
  • Jon Beckett and his team from O2 Ashton/Manchester Fort they also donated five raffle prizes and vouchers.
  • Yvonne and her team from Santander Ashton/Manchester they made a generous donation on the day.
  • Kevin and his team from Hyde Fundraisers along with the help announcing the raffle and donating several raffle prizes coming from About Tameside.
  • Gary and his team from the Money Plus Group.
  • Janet & Lorraine with their team from Pearsons Legal and their donation of a case of wine (picture of it) also duly noted how fit John was playing a fast paced game at 58!
  • JP from Powerleague for accommodating to our every need on the day and working until 2am the night before the event.
  • All the lads from Bardsley Construction, The AA and all other players.

 What we plan to do with the money raised:

  • Invest in graphical services to enhance our awareness campaign to ensure it is adapted to the target audience age of 15-35, this will help young males understand the importance of checking on a regular basis along with an eye catching diagram of how to check.
  • Supply funding for our text reminder service which is in the development stages.
  • Drive our social media awareness to a new level allowing us to get the message across in a much better way.

How to bag yourself a corporate sponsor!

In this post I will be talking you through the process of when businesses give back, THEY GIVE BACK!

I attended a ‘speed-dating’ networking event hosted by Tameside4Good and Tameside Council (Made in Tameside) on the 19th May 2015 at BrotherUK in Ashton-under-Lyne.

I was joined by 14 other charities and 15 businesses wanting to know what they can do to give back to their community. The idea of the event was to bring the hard working volunteering organisations/charities and local businesses together to help the community.

Each charity had five minutes to pitch how they think the business could help them and communicate as effectively as possible, first impressions were a big part of this networking event.

I attended the event with no expectations other than the charities best interests at heart, I spoke with companies such as: Santander, O2 (Formby Connections), New Charter, Bardsley Construction, Tameside Council, IKEA and Benchmark Building Supplies.

The event was opened by Phill Brown – Managing Director of Benchmark Building Supplies, then stepped up the Ambassador from Timpson to talk about what they have done to help prisoners gain back their lives – They’re all about second chances.

After brief introductions lasting 30 seconds to 1 minute, that left me four minutes to negotiate a potential donation of time, money or resources. In that four minutes the businesses had a criteria to hit before making a decision to help the charity pitching for support.

I asked Santander, O2 and Bardsley Construction to enter a team into our five-a-side football tournament due in a month’s time, they accepted and pledged to enter a team for this tournament. They also pledged to give raffle prizes to contribute towards the fundraising day.

Saving the best until last, by this time I’d pitched similar information to 14 businesses, Benchmark Building Supplies was last on the agenda – Phill Brown the Managing Director also sat in for this one which surprised me and put the pressure on a little.

I expressed to Phill and his colleague why I started the charity and what I was looking to achieve, it was at that moment the process of the event changed, instead of me pitching to Phill what I’d pitched to the other, Phill simply told me what he has to offer.

The offer was more than anyone could’ve expected and a fantastic result not only for BaggyTrousersUK but Tameside4Good as the event organisers.

Phill pledged the following:

  • Sand and Stone tonne bags with the charities message and branding to generate exposure and an optional 50p donation per bag from clients of Benchmark Building Supplies.
  • Funds to create a brand new website developed by the award winning digital agency Banter Media.
  • Digital marketing apprentice at our disposal for any marketing needs.

I left this event ready to cry with joy from the response and atmosphere of the event. The new contacts I’d acquired will become very useful and vital to the charities development and operation.

  • My advice for any other charity attending an event like this:
  • Be yourself – Don’t try to be someone you’re not.
  • Have no expectations – If you leave with something it is a bonus!
  • Enjoy it – Speak to people that have experience you prosper to gain.
  • Be confident – First impressions seal the deal.