A NEW group to offer support to men suffering from prostate cancer in Bury is being launched.

The Bury Prostate Cancer Support Group has been established by the charity Prostate Cancer UK, with the help of Bury Unitarian Church.

The church has offered the use of its building for meetings, and will also cover the running costs of the group to help it develop in the future.

Anne Mills, chairman of the congregation, said the importance of creating such a group recently hit home.

She said: "Recently, two of our church-members have been diagnosed with — and, luckily, successfully treated for — prostate cancer, and this has made us realise that there is a need, in the Bury area, for a group that will assist both sufferers and their families.

"The nearest similar groups are in Bolton and Oldham, which is quite a way to travel for people who are not in the best of health, and who are almost certainly travelling great distances to keep hospital appointments and undergo treatment, over an intensive period of some months."

The group will be open to men diagnosed with the illness, as well as their wives, partners and families, to provide advice and support.

Prostate cancer is said to be the most common cancer in men in the UK, with more than 40,000 men being diagnosed every year, and 250,000 men currently living with the disease.

Yvonne Trace, support group development officer at the charity, said: "Support groups operate in local communities, and can be a fantastic source of information and informal support for men and their families.

"Meeting and hearing from others affected by the disease can not only enable you to share your feelings but also understand the way you feel, and improve your wellbeing.

"By attending the support group, men are better informed about their condition and about the range of treatments that might be offered to them. This in turn is beneficial to the NHS since men are better prepared for clinic appointments."

The church hopes that it will become a viable group which will be able to run itself after a 12-month period, and that any funds left over will then be handed to the group for future use.

A meeting will be held at the church in Bank Street on Tuesday March 17, which will feature information on prostate cancer from expert speakers, as well as a question and answer session.

It will run from 7pm to 9pm.