Bill Bailey on the team effort to beat prostate cancer

Comedian Bill Bailey is a Prostate Cancer UK ambassador. His views do not necessarily represent those of ITV News.

I’ve been signing some big names for the new team Men United v Prostate Cancer. We’ve got Charles Dance, Damian Lewis, Nobby Stiles, Ray Winstone to list a few. I’m proud to be the team manager of what we hope will be the biggest movement for men’s health this country has ever seen.

Men United is the bright idea of Prostate Cancer UK. In the UK, a man dies every hour from prostate cancer. That’s 10,000 dads, granddads, uncles and brothers. A bloke is diagnosed with the disease every 15 minutes – 40,000 a year. And 250,000 men are living with or after the disease this very minute.

Read: Men 'dying through ignorance' of prostate cancer

We’re using the language and love of football to reach men from all backgrounds and bring them together to get wised up about a common enemy. It doesn’t matter what team you usually support – there’s a place for you in Men United.

Why do I care about prostate cancer? Firstly, I’m a bloke. Secondly, I’m approaching 50, which puts me in that high risk group. And thirdly, and most importantly, my own father-in-law has lived through prostate cancer.

You don’t want to go through it alone. We need to join together to get things done about this disease, to get wised up about it, and to support each other. Men don’t always talk about stuff and, frankly, we should. We don’t always go to the doc' when we should and the message is: we should. We can win this - by teamwork and standing together to make a concerted effort to beat it. We need everyone to sign for Men United.

You do it by going online to search Men United and you’re in. Take the quiz, sign up, and become part of the team: www.prostatecanceruk.org/menunited