Why we need the Men's Health Forum

This isn't about blowing our own trumpet but about the challenges we face.

We have distributed over a million of our men's health mini-manuals so it was good to receive the latest bit of feedback through our website.

Thank you for the wonderful MAN MANUAL booklet I picked up at the Chelsea & Westminster hospital. I have enjoyed very much the whole booklet and the simple way the book explains everything and how logical it all is. I really do believe all males should read this and only wish I had got a copy sometime ago before I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, really helpful and outstanding read, thank you all.

That was fantastic to receive but we still have a lot to do to get men to get advice as early as possible and for services to be more welcoming.

The MHF is working on ways to improve men's use of the new bowel cancer screening programme. This summer we've had two reminders of why we need this and why despite our successes getting these programmes launched there is still a lot to do on the ground.

This week ITV West Country Tonight covered the story of a man from Gloucestershire who had the symptoms of bowel cancer for six months before doing getting them checked. You can still watch their interview with Derrick Daley.

Earlier in the summer the Eastern Daily Press covered a near identical story in Norfolk. Ernie Childs was sent a bowel cancer test but ignored it for months.

How would you get men to get checked sooner and how can services be more male friendly?