Comedian, writer, podcaster and local to Hitchin man; Richard Herring helped raise more than £16,000 for men’s health during a charity golf day supporting patients at the Lister Hospital.
The event, organised by East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity alongside former patient Graham Hoare, took place at Knebworth Golf Club and aimed to improve the experience of prostate cancer patients receiving treatment through the hospital’s urology department.
A total of 84 golfers attended the day, which included breakfast, a round of golf and lunch at the clubhouse.
Guests also heard from urology consultant Jim Adshead, who explained how the money raised could support patients in the future, before Richard Herring spoke candidly about his own experience of being treated for testicular cancer at the Lister Hospital and Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.
Richard has since turned his experience into both a book and stand-up show, mixing humour with the realities of cancer diagnosis and treatment. He said many men had contacted him after seeing the show to say it encouraged them to seek medical advice and, in some cases, led to cancer being diagnosed early.
Richard said: “It’s great to be able to support the charity and share a bit about my experience. The care I received at Lister Hospital and Mount Vernon Cancer Centre was fantastic and made a horrible situation much more bearable. I’m really pleased to be able to give something back to say thank you.
“I hope that my talk today persuades anyone worried about a health issue to go to see their GP and get checked out, and also, much more importantly, that it was funny!”
Bethany McNeil, head of fundraising for the charity, thanked everyone involved in making the day a success.
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She said: “We’re very grateful to everyone who took part in our men’s health golf day and helped make it such a success.
“It was a fantastic day, bringing people together to support projects that will make a real difference to patients receiving treatment.
“We’d like to give huge thanks to our co-organiser, Graham Hoare, who has supported and fundraised for the urology department since he received treatment for prostate cancer back in 2019.
“Special thanks, of course, go to Richard Herring who was hilarious while sharing an important message about testicular cancer and men’s health in general. He had the whole room laughing at the most inappropriate things!”