Cancer survivor inspires black men to talk about health

A cancer survivor is using his voice to inspire black men to talk about cancer.

Charlie Degale, 58, from Southfields in Wandsworth, is a man on a mission.

After being diagnosed with germ cell tumours in 2016, and being faced with a community that struggles to talk about cancer, Mr Degale was determined to encourage fellow black men to open up and speak out about the disease.

Mr Degale is a vocal advocate for dispelling cancer taboos within the black community. He appears frequently on the Black Men Rising podcast, which aims to encourage more conversations around cancer and to motivate men to seek medical help earlier.

Mr Degale’s own shock diagnosis couldn’t have come at a worse time – within a month of launching his dream football coaching business he was hit with the news that he had cancer.

He said: “I’ll never forget when they called me at work and said that they needed to see me urgently. I went into St George’s and spoke to the oncologist there. She confirmed that it was spreading.

“That’s when the alarm bells really started for me. It was in the lungs and they’d found a massive tumour behind the breastbone.”

Having grown up in a community where it was unusual for people to speak about their feelings, Mr Degale tried to deal with his diagnosis by himself.

He said: “There’s things that you thought would never affect you, especially as a man. Like a typical guy, I just got on with things.”

Instead of opening up, Mr Degale kept a journal to record his experiences and feelings.

He said: “At the time I was going through treatment I was the only black man on my ward.

“A big turning point for me was when a young Asian man came in for treatment who had just been diagnosed with cancer and he was absolutely terrified – you could see the fear in his eyes.

“I spoke to him and it seemed to put him at ease, which made me realise what a difference talking about your own cancer experience can make to other people, especially people who may come from cultures and backgrounds where it might not be spoken about as openly.”

New data from Macmillan Cancer Support has revealed that more than one in three black men say they don’t like to share their real feelings. And one in four do not feel comfortable talking to others about things that worry them.

Mr Degale said: “It is frustrating because early detection is so vital. Almost every guy that I spoke to on the Black Men Rising podcast was affected by prostate cancer, the biggest killer amongst black males.

“With any sign of discomfort in that area, you need to get it checked out no matter what, particularly as there is no national screening programme for prostate cancer in the UK. It’s down to us.”

Mr Degale has been in remission since 2017, but he still must undertake twice-yearly check-ups.

Pictured top: Charlie Degale (Picture: Macmillan Cancer Support)