Rugby cancer survivor aims for 31 triathlons in a month

Russell Cager was diagnosed after arranging a get-together with friends to discuss testing

A man who is recovering from prostate cancer aims to complete 31 triathlons in January to raise awareness about the disease.

Russell Cager will complete a 1.5km (0.9 miles) swim, a 40km (24.9 miles) bike ride and a 10km (6.2 miles) run on each of the 31 days.

The 55-year-old, from Rugby, Warwickshire was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2022.

He has raised £3,000 so far of his £5,000 target for Prostate Cancer UK.

Mr Cager's diagnosis came after he arranged a get-together with friends to discuss their health.

"I said 'let's go for a curry, let's go for a beer and make it a social event, but let's do something positive about our health and get ourselves tested'," he said.

The mortgage advisor hoped to raise £5,000 as well as awareness about testing

"We sat down at the table after we did the blood test and there were eight people.

"One of them said: 'the statistics are one in eight'. So there was a chance one of us around this table, if the statistics were correct, had got prostate cancer."

A day later, doctors told Mr Cager his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test needed investigating.

He underwent a series of tests between January and March last year before a biopsy confirmed he had stage three cancer.

A month after he was told, Mr Cager had surgery to have the tumour removed.

The fundraiser - who was juggling the triathlons alongside his work as a mortgage adviser - hoped to break the stigma about testing and aimed to reassure men the procedure was easy.

"Don't be frightened of getting yourself tested because it's just taking a blood test now or peeing onto a stick, and it could save your life," he added.