Getting hands on to fight cancer ; Male Cancer charity Orchid has launched a new campaign, His Health In Your Hands, to mark the annual Orchid Male Cancer Awareness Week from April 11-17.

MANY male cancers can be treated successfully if found earlyenough. But some men need a helping hand to get that vital earlydiagnosis Men are notoriously backwards at coming forwards whenphysical symptoms suggest they may need to see a doctor.

While that's not a problem if they've got man flu, it can be life-threatening if their symptoms are caused by something as serious ascancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK, killing10,000 men a year, yet many are ignoring its potential symptoms, ordon't know what they are in the first place.

The same can be said for testicular cancer, and the much rarerpenile cancer.

New research released by Orchid, the male cancer charity, hasfound that 68% of men either don't know or are unsure about how tocheck for the signs of male cancer.

More than a third of those surveyed admitted that they wouldn'tgo to their doctor unless they were "ill enough", with a further 33%preferring to "tough it out". It's this life-threateningprocrastination, as well as the failure to recognise symptoms, thathas prompted Orchid to launch the new campaign His Health In YourHands to mark the annual Orchid Male Cancer Awareness Week fromApril 11-17.

The campaign is calling on women to be proactive in encouragingtheir man to be aware of the symptoms of the three male specificcancers - testicular, penile and prostate - so they seek advice asearly as possible.

Orchid found that one in five men would rely on their partner tomake their GP appointment should they discover a lump in theirtestis, for example.

However, 53% of men surveyed wouldn't go to their GP if theysuspected a health problem, preferring to try the internet or familyand friends for information first.

Rebecca Porta, chief executive of Orchid, says: "Male cancerawareness is a significant problem in the UK today and it can stillbe a challenge to get men to take their health seriously.

"As this research shows, we all have a role to play in workingtogether to fight male cancer, whether it's to encourage self-checks or to seek medical advice and information.

"We're calling on all women to be proactive in encouraging theman in their lives - their husband, father, son, brother - to bemore male cancer aware."

Prostate cancer mainly affects men over the age of 65, and innearly half of cases the disease will have spread before diagnosis,making it far harder to treat.

Symptoms are similar to benign prostate enlargement, which can becured fairly easily. They include passing urine more frequently andhaving difficulty (and occasionally pain or blood) when passingurine.

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among men aged 15-45, affecting 2,000 a year. In more than a third of cases, thedisease has spread before diagnosis. The usual symptom is a lump orswelling in a testicle, most commonly found on the front or side.Other symptoms can include a dull ache or sharp pain in thetesticles or scrotum, a dull ache in the lower abdomen, or a suddencollection of fluid in the scrotum.

Research has shown that less than 4% of testicular lumps arecancerous, but it's vital to see a doctor straight away to have itchecked as, if caught early enough, testicular cancer has a curerate of more than 95%. It can also mean a man's fertility is usuallypreserved, although it may be affected when there's been a latediagnosis and chemotherapy is used.

Penile cancer is much rarer, withfewer than 400 cases annually.It mainly affects men over the age of 60, although there are youngercases. A quarter of those diagnosed with this won't sur vive.

The first sign of penile cancer can be a change in skin colourand skin thickening. Later symptoms include a growth or sore on thepenis. There may also be discharge or bleeding, however thesesymptoms are more likely to be other benign conditions.

Men of all ages should make sure they know what's normal andwhat's not.

Dr Tom Powles, a senior lecturer in medical oncology at the BartsCancer Institute, explains: "There shouldn't be any lumps in thetestis itself.

"The problem is that testicular cancer is painless and growsslowly, so men don't tend to worry about it too much - they thinkit'll go away."

He says he's seen men with a cancer making the testicle the sizeof an orange, and stresses: "They thought it would get better withtime. It doesn't happen as much as it used to, but it stillhappens."

Powles says prostate cancer is far more common and points outthat there are many different varieties, and it's not clear howlethal early prostate cancer is.

"There are types of prostate cancer that can rage like a forestfire and others that don't cause any problems at all for 20 or 30years. There's a huge spectrum and that's why it's so difficult totreat." However, he says that older men with prostate cancer shouldbe aware that the disease is extremely common, and there are manytreatment options, including simply monitoring the cancer andhormone therapy.

Other treatments are similar to those for testicular and penilecancer and include surgery and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy may alsobe an option, but is generally used only for advanced prostatecancer.

Powles says women are needed to encourage men to seek help simplybecause "men are so bad at it".

With regards to testicular cancer in younger men, he adds: "Youngmen feel pretty indestructible.

They don't want to worry about a cancer diagnosis, and many don'trealise how curable testes cancer is if you catch it early.

"If a woman's partner notices a lump, she shouldn't let himignore it."

TIPS FOR WOMEN TO HELP Make it easy for him - give him thenumber and address of the GP, and go with him.

Remind him that ignoring a worrying symptom won"t make it goaway. A visit to the GP will reassure him everything is OK, or willensure prompt attention. Try to understand what the obstacle is -is he worried about receiving bad news, or is there a family historyof illness? Let him know you understand. Encourage him to write downany questions before going to the GP and make sure he gets theanswers. Find out as much as possible about his symptoms and talkabout them - but don"t diagnose. If all else fails use guilt - tellhim you"re worried.

Avoid nagging. Be supportive, encouraging and determined.

For more information about male cancers, or to order a speciallydesigned T-shirt (pictured) to mark Orchid Male Cancer AwarenessWeek, visit www.orchid-cancer.org.uk