Honour the inspiring men in your life this Father’s Day by supporting Father And Son Day, a charity raising funds for leading cancer centre the Royal Marsden.

Hard-wired for fight-or-flight, raised on a heady diet of violent computer games, sexually charged media and constant competition, it’s hardly surprising that many young men find it hard to reach for emotional intelligence. Instead, we often spare the blushes by lurking behind machismo’s brittle screen. We beat our chests or retreat to our caves like big old bears, using stoicism and laddish humour to deal with indignity, embarrassment and pain.

Of course, this is simplified terribly. And yes, many men do choose to suffer in silence. But the problem is that we’re not all strong, silent types. Occasionally we need help and support – and we need to know it’s alright to ask for it. The path to being well-adjusted is not an easy one at the best of times. Sometimes it helps to have someone to follow. Too many people suffer needlessly.

My friend Mr Daniel Marks and I set up Father And Son Day with exactly this in mind. We’ve both had testicular cancer (an unusual thing to connect over). Since we recovered from that our fathers have also both had cancer – Mr Marks’ survived, thankfully, but mine died a few years ago. We saw how our relationships with our fathers became more reciprocal, more tender, more gentle and more powerful.

We’ve dealt with hospitals, helplines and hospices; lost friends and family; and been through more than one dark night with a loved one. And what these experiences have taught us is that while the relationship between father and son, or man and mentor, is one of the most important, rare and powerful bonds we will ever have, strangely it is also one of the least celebrated.

So, rather than sit around agreeing with one another, shaking our heads at this parlous situation, we came up with a plan to turn it on its head: to encourage people to share a picture of themselves with their father, son, mentor or inspiration on Instagram. And, as well as sharing the donation information (text MARSDEN to 70800 to donate £5), adding a bit about why this person is so inspiring to them.

Funds go to two specific, quantifiable initiatives at the Royal Marsden. First, peer support and specialist counselors for young men affected by cancer. Those on the threshold of adulthood are at particular risk of greater distress and there’s a dearth of age-appropriate services for teens. Second, the world’s first-ever Robotic Surgery Fellowship, which combines multi-discipline expertise with the latest technology. The result is radically reduced patient pain and recovery time – as well as shorter operations.

Every day should be a Father and Son Day, and when we launched last year we had some incredibly sweet messages – from a wonderfully diverse list of supporters. Among them, in no particular order, HRH The Duke of Cambridge and Messrs Mario Testino, Richard Madden, Lucky Blue Smith, Elton John, Johannes Huebl, David Furnish, Henry Holland, Jack Whitehall, Dermot O’Leary and Sir Jackie Stewart. Plus, of course, clinicians at the Royal Marsden.

This year we’re going to build on that, continuing to celebrate all the inspiring men in our lives. And thanks to our partnership with MR PORTER, you can also support us by picking out a few shirts from the special collection on the site (such as the exclusive custom-designed T-shirts from Orlebar Brown); until 9am GMT on Monday 20 June, proceeds from these items will go to our campaign.

There’s a lot that’s left unsaid in many relationships between men and mentors. When it’s at its best, there’s a quiet strength and dignity to it that is wonderful thing to behold, but it doesn’t always make room for admitting – and therefore dealing with – weakness. We can start changing that now.

How You Can Help:

· Post a picture of yourself and your father or male mentor on Instagram using the hashtag #FatherAndSonDay, and put the donation information in the caption: “text MARSDEN to 70800 to donate £5”.

· Shop MR PORTER’s selection of Father And Son Day shirts, the proceeds from which we are donating to Father And Son Day (be quick – you only have until tomorrow at 9am GMT).

· Go to Fatherandsonday.com to find out more about the charity.