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Men having tests for prostate cancer should have a more comfortable experience in future, thanks to a donation to Kent and Canterbury Hospital.
Prostate Cancer Support Association Kent (PCSA Kent) has donated a £10,000 specialist medical chair for perineal prostate biopsies.
The procedure involves passing a needle through the perineum, rather than carrying out the biopsy via the rectum. It is a safer and more accurate procedure for up to 10 patients a day with less need for repeat procedures.
Ben Eddy, consultant urologist at East Kent Hospitals, said: “It also reduces the risk of infection and the need for antibiotics, and is more comfortable for patients.
“People can go home within an hour and it is a much better experience than a trans-rectal biopsy.”
The biopsies are carried out by specially trained senior nurse specialists.
They also perform biopsies at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone and will be able to use the perineal method if another chair can be funded there.
Graham Edwards, founder and president of PCSA Kent, from Deal said the group will continue its fundraising.
He said: “We spend a lot of time with buckets outside supermarkets but we also give talks to masonic lodges and groups like Rotary and Lions because we want to raise awareness as well as money."
Read more: All the latest news from Deal
