Paddy Power pledges £1m to tackle prostate cancer ahead of World Darts Championship

Paddy Power has pledged £1m to tackle prostate cancer ahead of World Darts Championship (Picture: Getty)

More than 25,000 men have taken a 30-second online test over the past fortnight to calculate their risk of the one of the UK’s deadliest cancers.

New data shows the number of people completing Prostate Cancer UK’s online checker was five times higher than during the same time period last year.

Ahead of the World Darts Championship, tournament sponsor Paddy Power announced it would partner with the charity in a bid to improve diagnosis and treatment of the disease, which kills more than 11,500 men in the UK every year.

The initiative — dubbed ‘The Big 180’ — also saw the bookie reveal it could donate up to £1million to Prostate Cancer UK during the tournament.

Of the 25,000 men who have used the tool since the announcement on November 30, seven in ten, some 17,500, have been identified as being ‘high risk’, according to the charity.

The charity’s risk checker, which helps men understand their risk and decide whether they need a further blood test, involves just three quick questions.

These include your age, your family history of the disease and ethnicity to determine if you carry any of the risk factors.

It then provides information on how men over 50 can access a free prostate cancer check and the opportunity to receive further information via email.

This includes links to what you could ask your GP, contact details for the charity’s specialist nurses, and further resources on symptoms of the disease.

By the end of the World Darts Championship, which begins on Friday, Paddy Power hope up to 180,000 men will use the charity’s checker to calculate their risk.

The bookie will also donate £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK every time one of the players hits the maximum 180 score during the tournament at Alexandra Palace in North London, which runs until January 4.

After 901 maximums were scored at the tournament last year, it is hoped that record will be smashed in December and Paddy Power could pay a £1million to Prostate Cancer UK.

Paddy Power says the money raised will fund lifesaving research for men affected by the illness.

The campaign was launched last month by the winner of the 1993/94 PDC World Darts Championship Dennis ‘The Menance’ Priestly — who was treated for the disease after being diagnosed in November 2007.

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Rachael Kane, spokesperson for Paddy Power said: ‘This is an incredible result considering the Paddy Power World Darts Championship doesn’t begin until this Friday.

‘We pledged to donate £1,000 every time a 180 is struck during the tournament in the ultimate hopes that we can raise awareness of Prostate Cancer UK’s risk checker tool, encourage 180,000 men to use it, and sign a cheque for probable £1million by the time the tournament has concluded in January.’

She added: ‘If we can cause the number of men checking their risk to multiply by four before a dart has even been thrown, who knows what we can achieve once the action gets underway at the Ally Pally in front of 90,000 fans and a televised audience of millions across the world.’

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The disease kills more than 11,500 men in the UK every year.