Canobolas Lions Club visited the Orange hospital on Tuesday for the delivery of its new transperineal machine.
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For the past two years its members have held sausage sizzles, ride-a-thons and auctions – including the sale of a steer – to raise the funds to purchase the $260,000 piece of cutting-edge technology.
The club raised $100,000 towards the transperineal machine, which is used to take tissue samples of the prostate, while the NSW Government contributed the rest.
By the time you have symptoms it’s often very advanced and too late to treat,
- Dr Tim Nicholson
Urologist Dr Tim Nicholson said the hospital has been fighting to get hold of the machine for five years.
“The transperineal biopsy is the safest way and it has been shown to have a slightly better pick up rate than the previous transrectal equipment,” he said.
The machine takes a biopsy by inserting a needle through the skin of the perineum rather than the wall of the rectum, which lowers the risk of infection.
VIDEO: Canobolas Lion Club present Orange Hospital with new equipment
Dr Nicholson said when it comes to prostate cancer early detection is the key.
“By the time you have symptoms it’s often very advanced and too late to treat,” he said.
The idea to fundraise for the equipment came about after Lyn Ward’s husband Paddy Ward was diagnosed with prostate cancer eight years ago.
READ MORE: Lions Club purchase prostate equipment
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Mrs Ward said during this period she began to think more about men’s health and that they do not often give it the attention it deserves.
“I had a brain wave and thought – we can do this!” Mrs Ward said of the driver to help the hospital.
Orange Health Service General Manager Catherine Nowlan said it is estimated more than 17,700 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in Australia this year.
“This is a fabulous addition to our hospital and we’re extremely grateful to the Canobolas Lions Club for working so hard and raising the funds to enable us to purchase this advanced technology,” she said.
Doctors and nurses commenced training with the machine supplier this week.
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