People & Lifestyle story, July 2006
| COUPLE WILL WALK ALONG HADRIAN'S WALL FOR CHARITY
An article which appeared in the THE WATFORD OBSERVER By: Andrea Kon |
WALKING 40 miles over four days would be a challenge for any septuagenarians.
For Richard and Shirley Killick, both 71, of Chorleywood, it will be even more demanding.
Richard, who was first diagnosed with prostate cancer ten years ago, will finish gruelling radiotherapy treatment just two days before they set off to walk 40 miles along Hadrian's Wall next Monday.
The courageous couple hope their Wander on the Wall will raise £2,000 for Prostate Research Campaign, the only charity in Britain to provide patient information and fund research and further medical training into all prostate diseases. Richard, has been a trustee of the charity since 1997 and edits its quarterly newsletter Update.
Half of all men over the age of 50 can expect to suffer prostate problems at some time in their lives. More than 30,000 men in Britain are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. About 10,000 die because the disease has spread beyond the prostate gland by the time it is discovered. Yet a simple PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test may indicate the presence of cancerous cells and lead to early discovery of the disease.
Grandfather-of-three Richard, a former chairman of community and leisure services on Three Rivers District Council, and a former marketing manager at Case on the Watford Business Park, underwent a radical prostatectomy, surgery for the removal of the whole prostate gland, in 1996. He then had hormone therapy and appeared to have beaten the cancer. But a PSA blood test earlier this year suggested that the problem had recurred and he started radiotherapy at the beginning of July.
He said: "My wife and I both like long distance walking. "I have been very healthy since my operation and the idea of walking along Hadrian's Wall, far from telephones and other interruptions, with time together enjoying each other's company and the lovely scenery really appealed to us.
Some people are walking more than 80 miles, the whole length of the wall, in aid of the charity, but we thought 40 miles over four days was quite enough for a pair of septuagenarians."
"We will be staying at B & B's along the way. What I'm most looking forward to is really chilling out and feeling healthy and I hope we will raise about £2,000 for the charity."
If you would like to sponsor Richard and Shirley Killick, you can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/Killicks.
For further information on all prostate disease, contact Prostate Research Campaign UK, 10 Northfields Prospect, Putney Bridge Road, London SW18 1PE or visit the charity's website www.prostate-research.org.uk.