Man to 'march through life' for cancer charity

Paul Dennington (left) will set off from the north-east of England on 3 August and walk for 36 days before finishing in his home town in Kent

A Kent man with a terminal cancer diagnosis will tackle a March Through Life by walking from the north-east of England to Kent to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.

Paul Dennington, who has prostate cancer, will set off from North Shields, where he was born, on 3 August and walk for 36 days before finishing in his home village of Hempstead, near Gillingham.

During the poignant walk, Paul will stop at several places with a special meaning to him, including St James' Park, the home ground of Newcastle United Football Club, which he has supported since he was a boy.

Paul said that if caught early, prostate cancer was "very treatable" so raising awareness was "very important".

Upon departure from the North East, Paul will then head to Birkenhead, where he will pay tribute to his parents, before a stop in the West Midlands at Aston University, where he previously studied.

Before reaching the finishing mark, Mr Dennington will pass through Rickmansworth, where he owned his first home, and hospitals in Maidstone in Medway, to mark his cancer diagnosis.

Paul, who has already raised £100,000 for Prostate Cancer UK, has regularly attended both during his diagnosis and four-and-a-half years of treatment including radiotherapy and hormone therapy.

'I did feel guilt'

Paul's challenge is due to finish on 7 September when he reaches his current home in Kent, where he has lived for the past 27 years.

By then, he is expected to have scaled 27,375 ft (8,343m), just shy of the summit of Mount Everest.

Paul said: "When I was diagnosed it felt surreal as I didn't have symptoms and thought I was pretty fit and healthy.

"I did feel guilt, though, as it was my body that was the reason my family were going to have to go through this journey.

"Caught early, prostate cancer is very treatable.

"Without a screening programme in the UK we rely heavily on well informed and willing men to proactively get themselves tested.

"That is why raising awareness of risk is so important."