Express & Star

Walsall builders show off orange tutus in support of boss's cancer battle

A team of builders have shown there’s no need to take life ‘tutu’ seriously – even after their boss returned to work following cancer treatment.

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The builders have donned orange tutus

Paul Houghton, site manager for Walsall-based NE Cox, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in June last year and had chemotherapy followed by major surgery to remove most of his oesophagus.

To celebrate his return to work on site in Walsall, the father-of-two persuaded his workmates to swap their brown overalls for orange tutus to launch Stand Up To Cancer - a joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.

But the lads went one step further when they built a wall, daubed the word ‘cancer’ on it and handed Paul a sledgehammer to smash it down. In a fun yet poignant video, viewers see Paul emerge through the wall with a giant grin on his face.

Now looking forward to the birth of his first grandchild, Paul is encouraging people to dress up in funny, unusual or unpredictable ways to raise money for research.

His antics come after a host of celebrities - including Birmingham comedian Joe Lycett – dressed as their unlikely heroes for the same campaign.

“It’s been a tough 18 months but, thanks to research and treatment, I’ve come through it,” said Paul, who lives in Solihull. “It felt great to smash down cancer and I’d like to thank everyone at work for being such good sports and supporting me.”

Paul discovered he had stage three advanced cancer after struggles with indigestion eventually lead to difficulty swallowing.

“I fainted when they told me it was cancer,” said Paul who is married to Dawn with two grown up children Tamsin and Sam. “I remember waking up in the recovery room with people all around me. My wife and daughter were there and they told me I’d need tests to see if the cancer had spread.

“I tried to be positive but waiting was the hardest bit. I’d lie awake at night thinking I must be riddled with it. They’d said that if I got it anywhere else, I’d have to have palliative care. I remember saying: ‘Is that when you have chemotherapy and slowly slip away’ and they said yes.

“You have really dark times, particularly at the start but I’m so grateful for the treatment that saved my life. It’s thanks to research that I’m still standing so now it’s payback time.”

Paula Young, Cancer Research UK’s spokeswoman for the West Midlands, said: “We’re very grateful to Paul for helping to raise awareness with such panache.

“There’s been amazing progress in the past few decades and more people are now surviving cancer than ever before. But with one in two of us in the UK set to develop the disease at some point in our lives, there’s still so much more to do.

“Supporting Stand Up To Cancer enables scientists to explore brave new ways to fight the disease and develop radical treatments, meaning more lives are saved.”

This autumn will see a dedicated season of programming for Stand Up To Cancer on Channel 4.

Visit su2c.org.uk to get involved.

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