'ManVan' cancer service set up for Welsh patients

Nearly 3,000 men in Wales are diagnosed with prostate or testicular cancer every year

An American-style motor home has been converted into a mobile support service for men with prostate or testicular cancer in Wales.

The £600,000 for the 38ft (12m) long ManVan has been funded by the annual Movember moustache-growing campaign.

It will help those living in deprived or hard-to-reach rural areas.

Cancer charity Tenovus has joined forces with Prostate Cancer UK and The Movember Foundation to launch the service.

Around 2,600 men are diagnosed with prostate or testicular cancer every year in Wales and the van will be used as a base for educational talks and counselling.

In its first month the ManVan will call at Llandudno, Llangollen, Kidwelly, Carmarthen, Burry Port, Port Talbot, Barry, Bridgend, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Swansea, Maesteg, Newtown, Aberystwyth, Rhayader and Brecon.

Chief executive of Tenovus Claudia McVie, said: "We want to improve the support available to men with prostate or testicular cancer in Wales by bringing vital services directly to them.

"We know men aren't always comfortable talking about their worries, so we've designed the space specifically with them in mind.

"We have years of experience delivering mobile cancer care into the heart of communities and now thanks to The Movember Foundation and Prostate Cancer UK, we can start to reach men who otherwise often go unsupported."

Moustaches for Movember are grown through November by men across the UK in support of research in to prostate and testicular cancer.

It operates in 21 countries and raised £27m in the UK in 2012 and more than £92m around the globe.

The van is planned as a base for educational talks and counselling