The Chestnut Appeal for Men's Health

Who we are

The Chestnut Appeal was founded in 1999 at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and has since gone on to be at the forefront of prostate cancer care right across the region.

We support the very latest in treatments and technology that wouldn’t be available without community fundraising and we rely on donations from the public.

Over the years we’ve realised that Men’s Health suffers from an imbalance and at the core of our work is highlighting this most common cancer in men, as well as Prostate Cancer, we also raise awareness of Testicular Cancer and Penile Cancer, two other quite treatable cancers that sadly if left can be devastating. We believe it is vital to get more men talking about their health and taking action when they feel like something could be wrong, and a lot of our time is spent out in the community giving free talks and seminars about these three cancers. We also run a local support group.

Raising awareness of Men’s Cancers is at the heart of everything we do, & we aim to make a marked difference to men’s health across the region.

More than 47,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year, that’s 129 men a day yet less than 30% of people know where the prostate gland is, let alone what it does, so a lot of work is still needed.The success of the Chestnut Appeal is a testament to what can be achieved if we work together as a community. Over the coming years we aim to improve these vital services and do much more in the area, helping reach more of the community. We have a lot to be thankful for, and a huge amount to do in the future to ensure men’s health is continually talked about, that the South West corner of the UK isn’t forgotten about and, that that we’re able to attract the very best technologies to the area.