Warlingham resident Martin Fernandez has signed up for the hair-raising Decembeard campaign to help take on bowel cancer this Christmas.

Beating Bowel Cancer’s Decembeard campaign asks men to grow a beard for the month of December to raise awareness of bowel cancer in men and raise funds for the charity to help them support all those affected by the disease.

Martin has a very personal reason for signing up to Decembeard because he lost his father, Jose Fernandez, to the disease just over 4 years ago.

Jose, who had moved from Spain to live in England when he was 26, had previously survived prostate cancer. He had been given the all clear only to be diagnosed with bowel cancer 5 years later when he was 74.

Martin said: “Dad was a real fighter. He was initially given a prognosis of 2 years but lived for  4 years more than this. 

“He went through a lot in that time. Following surgery to remove the tumour, he underwent chemo and radiotherapy via various medical trials with the Royal Marsden. Then 5 years ago they suggested he went on another trial but by this time his cancer had spread to his lungs. They told him the new chemo trial could only give him 3 months to a year maximum.  Dad decided he’d had enough treatment and he decided against taking part in the trial.

“Incredibly he went on to live another year without the chemo anyway.”

Due to his family history of cancer, Martin, a regional treasurer for a US multi-national company, is now regularly tested for both prostate and bowel cancer. 

Decembeard is a fun campaign in aid of a very serious cause. Each year in the UK, more than 40,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer and 16,000 each year die from the disease.  But it doesn’t have to be that way because 90% of those diagnosed at an early stage can be successfully treated. 

Over the last five years, thousands of men around the UK have supported the campaign. The awareness it has raised has undoubtedly saved lives and the funds raised for the charity have enabled them to provide help, hope and reassurance to a great many bowel cancer patients and their families.

But thousands more people are diagnosed each year, so the charity is once again asking men to become a Decembeard champion to help them harness the power of the beard. 

As one of the national Decembeard champions, Martin is urging local men to sign up to support the campaign.

He said: “Bowel cancer is an awful disease that can affect people of all ages. It not only killed my father but my wife’s cousin also lost her son to it when he was just 34. 

“I think the Decembeard campaign is fantastic because it raises awareness of a disease that many may feel embarrassed to talk about, while raising money for the charity Beating Bowel Cancer, that provides vital support to those affected by it.

“If you’re willing to go grizzly throughout December, dye or decorate your existing face fur or hold a ‘beardy’ event in the local area, check out Decembeard.org today and join the hairy band of brothers taking on bowel cancer beard by beard.”

For more information about bowel cancer, visit www.beatingbowelcancer.org . Or if you have any concerns or queries, you can contact their Nurse Helpline on 020 8973 0011 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.