A DETERMINED Droitwich prostate cancer survivor has helped raise thousands of pounds for a state-of-the-art surgical robotic system at the Alexandra Hospital.
Brian Wilkes, 77, who works on the tills at Morrisons Bromsgrove, has been driving the campaign to bring Rory the Robot to the Alex since his own treatment in 2015 and is continuing in his quest to get the potentially life-changing equipment funded.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in UK men, with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year.
Rory, the surgical robotic system, allows surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgery, operating through a few small cuts instead of a large open incision and Worcestershire Acute NHS Trust needs to raise £1.6million to bring the machinery to the county.
Brian said: “My brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015, which prompted me to get myself checked.
“In February 2015, I was diagnosed with it too, and after my treatment was finished, I found out about Rory and decided to do something to help the Alex.”
During the past 18 months, Brian’s tireless campaigning and fund-raising for the cause has secured a £25,000 donation from Morrisons – the largest ever single amount it has gifted to charity – and another £15,000 from in-store bag-packs and bucket collections throughout Worcestershire and Herefordshire,
Brian’s close friends and Morrisons customers Jean and Harry Yale, also from Droitwich, have followed Brian’s story and aiding his fund-raising efforts throughout.
Jean, whose own family has been affected by prostate cancer, said: “We shop at the Bromsgrove store every week and always come to Brian’s checkout – even if he’s got a queue.
“He has achieved so much in the last year – he is so motivated – the absolute driving force behind the campaign.
“We’ve been helping out at bag-packs along the way and Brian just puts hours and hours of work into it.
“It’s wonderful because he is not only raising money, but also the profile of the illness.
“It really goes to show that one person can make a difference, if they are willing to put the work in.”
With Rory’s assistance, patients could benefit from less pain, minimal blood loss, quicker recovery and reduced complications and Brian is determined to make this available to those with prostate cancer in the area.
Brian added: “Rory performs the prostatectomy via keyhole-type surgery, meaning that it is far less invasive and that the recovery time of the patient is dramatically reduced.
“This in invaluable to not only the patient, but the hospital too, because their staff and resources can be put to better use.”
Visit http://tinyurl.com/jq2xoq6 for more information.
Here’s what Rory the Robot is all about….
IMAGINE a state-of-the-art surgical robot that cuts the time spent in hospital by a third, reduces scarring for the patient and will bring benefits to the friends and family of the patient and the wider community as well.
Welcome to Rory the Robot, a £1.6million machine that could see Worcestershire become a world leader in prostate and bladder cancer care.
And that’s why the Bromsgrove and Droitwich Standards are backing the Rory the Robot campaign for 2017.
The space age machine is earmarked for installation at the Alexandra Hospital, and it is just a few thousand pounds short of becoming a reality.
Rory will be able to perform surgery on bladder and prostate cancer patients which a few years ago would have been seen as science fiction.
And the benefits are huge – patients spend a third less time in hospital, recover quicker and have less scarring.
He’s also fast and given his reputation, means that Redditch will attract the best surgeons in the business to the Alex.
The Woodrow Drive hospital is sometimes seen, despite the staff’s fantastic efforts, as a place where services are disappearing to Worcester.
But it is home to a £30million cancer treatment centre where the urology department has been hailed as the not just the best in Britain – but the world.
The appeal is just £10,000 short of the £300,000 they need to get Rory installed at the Alex and the hope is the robot could be in situ by February and, after staff training, in operation by April, 2017.
Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP_c7uEGXoo to see a video of the impact of prostate cancer.
