Millwall's Neil Harris and Hull City's Matt Duke are united in their fight against testicular cancer, but this weekend loyalties will be divided as they face each other in the FA cup fourth round.
Striker Neil Harris is looking to further extend his position as Millwall's all time, leading scorer by getting past keeper Matt Duke and netting the goals that send Premiership side Hull City crashing out of the FA cup.
Duke and Harris are good friends off the pitch and work together raising awareness of, and funds for testicular cancer research at the Everyman Male Cancer Campaign, after both having survived the disease. However such allegiances will swiftly be forgotten on Saturday when the Division 1 Lions battle the Premiership Tigers.
"Matt and I have fought on the same side against testicular cancer and been through so much, but this weekend we'll definitely be lining up as opponents," Harris said.
"It'll be great to pit our wits against each other and hopefully I'll be the one celebrating when the final whistle blows."
Duke was diagnosed with testicular cancer 12 months ago but has since made a successful come back for Hull City and played a starring role in the last round by keeping a clean sheet against Newcastle United.
"Neil's a great lad but friendship won't be a factor that will come into play on Saturday. Both Millwall and Hull are having great seasons but I'm confident we can go one better by knocking Millwall out this weekend."
No matter which team you will be supporting this weekend get behind Everyman and visit www.everymancancer.org and make a donation for Harris or Duke today.
Everyman is also pleased to announce that it will continue to be working alongside The FA as one of their charity partners during 2009. Everyman's Keep Your Eye on the Ball campaign was established in 2000 and will continue to raise awareness of male cancers within the football community with this year's focus fortnight in April.
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Notes:
* Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men aged between 15 and 44, with about 2,000 cases a year in the UK. Incidence is increasing dramatically - by almost four-fold in the past 50 years, but thanks to advances made at Everyman, testicular cancer is 99% curable if caught early, and with treatment the overall cure rate is 95%.
* Prostate cancer has overtaken lung cancer to become the most common cancer in men affecting almost 35,000 men every year in the UK. One man dies of prostate cancer in the UK every hour, a total of 10,000 men per year.
Everyman is the UK leading male cancer campaign which raises awareness of, and funds research into testicular and prostate cancer. Everyman funds research at The Everyman Centre - Europe's first and only centre dedicated to male cancer research. Everyman is focussed on improving the survival rate of men with testicular cancer by raising awareness about the early symptoms. Its scientists have also led groundbreaking research into new treatments for prostate cancer. The Everyman Centre is located within Europe's leading cancer organisation, The Institute of Cancer Research. The Institute is marking its centenary in 2009, celebrating 100 years of world leading research into cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. For more information visit www.everymancancer.org
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