Petersfield turns blue as hundreds of people participate in March for Men with Kev

More than 300 people gathered in Petersfield for a charity walk and to raise awareness about men’s cancer.

The second March for Men with Kev took place on September 15, in memory of Kevan Birkett, who passed away from Prostate cancer in 2023 aged 57.

People assembled at The Square to walk 2.5k, 5k and 10k to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK and the Prostate Cancer Support Organisation (PCaSO).

Kevan’s widow, Claire Birkett said: “When Kevan got his diagnosis it was already at an advanced stage and we knew it wasn't going to be curable.

“Kevan became a great advocate for doing these types of walks to promote awareness. If he saw any of his friends he made sure they registered to get tested.

“He used to do his own walks around the town, dye his hair blue, and raised between £2,000 to £3,000 from doing it.”

This year, a few participants got creative and painted themselves blue, which is associated with prostate cancer. There was also a dinosaur and a banana while others brought along their dogs. 

Petersfield Lions, PCaSO and Cancer Testing South were in attendance to highlight upcoming blood PSA tests for prostate cancer and participants got warmed up for the march by grooving to some music.

Malcolm Farrow, who survived the cancer, told The Post that the message of getting tested is still not well-known amongst middle-aged men.

He said: “I do find to my alarm that my younger friends, the ones in their 50s, some of them think, ‘oh, should I?’ ‘I might think about that.’

“I said, don't think about it, go and do it! The message needs to be hammered more readily home in younger men.”

Walkers were treated to a free hot dog from The George and a commemorative medal upon finishing.