CAMELFORD Rotary Club recently donated £1,000 to the Chestnut Appeal from funds raised at their charity golf day back in the summer.

The Chestnut Appeal for prostate cancer was founded in 1969 at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. Since then it has gone on to be at the forefront of prostate cancer care right across the region. It strives to provide the very latest treatments and technology that wouldn’t be available without community fundraising and donations from the public.

Following their charity golf day event in July, Camelford Rotary Club donated £1,000 to the appeal.

In September 2018, members of the club met with the charity’s co-ordinator Lesley–Ann Simpson at The Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske in Truro to celebrate the launch of the most up to date Ultrasound-MRI Fusion machine for targeted diagnosis of prostate cancer in the region.

This technology is also now available at Derriford and Exeter hospitals and the charity’s Cornish project continues to raise funds to install these machines in other hospitals. The charity has also funded six prostate cancer nurses across Devon and Cornwall to help local hospitals deliver these specialist services.

Lesley-Ann Simpson said “This funding campaign has meant that we are now able to provide the very latest in diagnostic equipment for faster diagnosis of prostate cancer in Cornwall. At a cost of £111,000, Ultrasound-MRI Fusion really is state of the art.

“The device provides precise targeting and the best possible prostate biopsy currently available. Whether for a first biopsy or as a repeat biopsy, patients have a greater peace of mind knowing that the chance of detecting significant prostate cancer is maximised whilst minimising the risk of false negative results.”

Over 47,000 men are diagnosed with the disease every year and one in eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime.

Men’s health suffers from an imbalance and it’s the mission of the charity to highlight this most common cancer and to facilitate quicker, easier and more accurate diagnosis.

For news or to make a donation, visit www.chestnutappeal.org.uk, call 01752 792736 or look at Facebook or Twitter.