27 February 2018
Tuesday 27 February 2018: The men of the New England Region will once again have a Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse to support them on their cancer journey.
Thanks to generous donations from The Profield Foundation and an anonymous individual, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) has been able to return a specialist nurse to the region; a win that was three years in the making.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian men and is far too frightening to have to face alone. PCFA's Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurses help patients understand their prostate cancer diagnosis, what to expect and connect them with services to address the challenges that they may encounter along the way.
"Prostate cancer is a special issue for regional and rural communities, where men are 21% more likely to die of their prostate cancer than those living in our cities," said Jim Hughes AM, National Chairman, PCFA.
"PCFA is incredibly grateful for these donations from The Profield Foundation and others which will ensure that the men of the New England Region and their families get the support they need, when they need it most."
PCFA offers this extraordinary expert nursing support to men free of charge, but of course it isn't free. Since the nursing service was established in 2012, PCFA has worked hard to expand this community/Government funding model in the hope of making this service more widely available.
PCFA previously had a specialist nurse located in Tamworth up until 2015 but was forced to discontinue the position when the funding concluded.
Michael Field, Chairman of The Profield Foundation, said that they felt compelled to support this important initiative.
"The Profield Foundation would like to see PCFA realise their goal for every man in Australia to get access to this life-changing expert nursing-support when they are diagnosed with prostate cancer," said Mr Field.
"When PCFA explained to us the urgent need and that 2 in 3 men are currently missing out, we were really keen to ensure that specialist support was available to the men of the New England area. The Profield Foundation was pleased to play our part and also that others have joined us in making this happen."
The new nurse will be hosted by Peel Regional and Rural Health Services and will be based at the North West Cancer Centre at Tamworth Hospital. The specialist nurse will act as the main point of contact for men and their families, supporting them with any issues or concerns related to their prostate cancer and treatment.
PCFA urgently needs to fund and place more specialist nurses in regional Australia. If you would like to contribute, then you can do so online at pcfa.org.au/ruralnurses
Meet our new prostate cancer specialist nurse based at Tamworth Hospital, Natasha Bissell: http://pcfa.org.au/news-media/news/meet-our-new-prostate-cancer-specialist-nurse-natasha-bissell/
