Parry reveals cancer fight
FOOTBALL commentator Alan Parry revealed his own fight with prostate cancer as he joined the launch of Sky Sports frontman Jeff Stelling’s latest marathon charity walk. Stelling is undertaking his 34th Football March in September, raising funds for Prostate Cancer UK by stepping out from Wembley to Wycombe’s Adams Park in honour of fellow broadcasting doyen Bill Turnbull. Former BBC Breakfast presenter Turnbull, who died in August at the age of 66, five years after a prostate cancer diagnosis, was a devoted Wycombe supporter like Parry, who is a former director of the club now pushing for the play-offs in League One. Parry’s diagnosis came last year when a routine health check detected unusually high levels of PSA (prostate specific antigen). He opted to have his prostate removed and has recovered well.
‘I’ve met so many guys since who’ve had the same diagnosis,’ said 75-year-old Parry, who has pledged to join Stelling for the walk. ‘You read that one in eight men will have it, but you don’t think about that until you share your experience. ‘When you do, you realise that as long as you act decisively and quickly there’s nothing to be scared of.
‘But never turn your shoulder and say it won’t happen to me.’ Stelling, legendary host of Sky’s Soccer Saturday, has completed 33 walks, raising £1.4million since the first trek of 262 miles from Hartlepool to Wembley in 2016. ‘I thought I’d done my last,’ said the 67-year-old. ‘And then this idea was put to me. I wasn’t a big friend of Bill’s but looking back you can trace some parallels and common ground.
‘We both started in local radio in the late 70s, we both worked at LBC in London for a while, we both supported lower league football teams. ‘I watched him on BBC
Breakfast and Strictly, and Bill did such a lot when he spoke publicly about his prostate cancer. It had a massive, massive impact, I think there was a 20 per increase of people who went and sought advice. We all wanted to do something as a tribute and to carry on his work.’
Jeff Stelling will walk from Wembley to Wycombe’s Adams Park on 17 September. You can sign up to join him at: prostatecanceruk.org/jeffsmarch