Fighting cancer: (From left) Ron Jones, Sonia Strachan and Gavan Pritchett.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
After shaving their hair to raise money for prostate cancer treatment, the formerly hairy fellas of the Lifestyle Shepparton community on Channel Rd have handed over the proceeds to the Peter Copulos Cancer Centre.
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Gavan Pritchett and Ron Jones delivered a cheque of $8400 to prostate cancer specialist nurse Sonia Strachan.
“The thing that astounds me is, we're going through a pandemic and you've still been able to do it,“ Ms Strachan said.
“That’s pretty incredible from a small group fundraising.”
That means the group has raised over $50,000 for the treatment of local men suffering from prostate cancer since 2014.
“The biggest percentage of it, apart from the Lions Club, comes from in the community. Just from donations from in the community and the raffles,” Mr Pritchett said.
Back in 2014, the money raised went to paying Ms Strachan’s wages at the hospital. But now it goes towards the treatment and care of local men.
“Because there is still stuff that are out-of-pocket expenses like certain certain scans like a PET scan,” Ms Strachan said.
A specialised PET scan isn’t covered by the government, according to Ms Strachan, and could cost $900 out-of-pocket.
“We're lucky because we've got money here that can help pay for those sorts of things, those extra things so they're not out of pocket,” she said.
Money talks: More than $8000 will be invested into the care and treatment of local prostate cancer patients.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The money will also help to cover the accommodation and transport expenses for men who have to travel outside the region for specialised treatment.
“We can do a lot here, but the stuff we can't, they may still have to go to Melbourne, so we can support them to do that as well,” Ms Strachan said.
The Lions Club usually donates $500 to $600 to the shave, but this year, Mr Jones said the club wanted to up the ante.
The Tallygaroopna Lions Club was Mr Pritchett’s biggest sponsor, contributing $1000 to the sum handed over to Ms Strachan.
“We raise thousands and thousands, and we give it all back locally,” Mr Jones said.
One of the members of the club is a farmer who donated 1000 bales of pea straw last year.
The Lions Club sold these for $6 a bale, hauling and delivering them personally to raise $6000 for local community charities.
“A lot of people don’t know, but they really put the money back into the community,” Mr Pritchett said.
If you are living with prostate cancer, you can get in contact with prostate cancer nurses Sonia Strachan or Nicole Lewis, who can link you in with support services. Phone 5832 3777 or 0448 723 128, or email sonia.strachan@gvhealth.org.au or nicole.lewis@gvhealth.org.au
