THE CORK SENIOR footballers are set to wear jerseys bearing the slogan ‘Testicular Cancer Appeal’ next Saturday in Croke Park.
Cork’s long-running association with O2 has drawn to an end and the county are still on the hunt for a new sponsor.
As a result they have entered into an agreement with the Mercy Hospital Foundation for their opening game in the Allianz League against Dublin next Saturday night.
The Cork county board have forged a partnership with the Foundation to promote the campaign to raise awareness of testicular cancer and this has paved the way for the ‘Testicular Cancer Appeal’ logo to appeal on the county’s jerseys.
A recent 13 year study highlighting the fact that young men in Cork have a 27% higher risk of developing testicular cancer than young men in any other part of the country.
This study highlighted the fact that while Dublin had a higher total number of diagnoses, Cork’s percentage per head of population was significantly higher while Galway and Meath have the lowest population percentage rates of any part of the country.
Mercy Foundation CEO Micheál Sheridan expressed his delight with the venture.
“It is an excellent opportunity to boost the profile of testicular cancer, its prevalence in young men, and most importantly how to detect it early.
“The Mercy Hospital Foundation is deeply committed to the Testicular Cancer (TC) Clinic at the hospital and annually gives €100,000 towards the on-going provision of and developments at the TC Clinic, providing Rapid Access facilities to young men with suspected Testicular Cancer.
“We also run a Schools Outreach Programme to boys aged 15-17 in schools in the Cork and Munster region.”
Cork county board chairman Bob Ryan said, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to support the Mercy Foundation in their work to raise awareness of testicular cancer. This is a serious health issue for many men today and this initiative is very welcome.”
