On Monday 16^th February the Rotary Club of Hull Paragon presented £1500 to the Prostate Cancer Care team based at Castle Hill Hospital from monies raised at a “Blitz the Ritz” Charity Ball. 

Presenting the cheque Past President Mike Fowler said “as a recipient of the team’s care, I think they are doing such a good job in making what can only be described as a traumatic experience for the patient so much more bearable.   I wanted to thank the team for what they have done for me and I am delighted that my club have agreed to support their life saving work” 

Mike was diagnosed with prostate cancer several years ago and is taking part in a European wide trial of hormone therapy.  

Consultant Urological Surgeon, Mr Matthew Simms who received the cheque on behalf of the team stated “We are delighted that the Rotary Club has made this donation to our team.  We are developing keyhole surgery for removal of early prostate cancers.   A portable laparoscopic trainer will help us develop the skills to perform this complex surgery and help us to train younger surgeons in these techniques” 

Traditionally surgery has been performed through a cut in the lower abdomen, which can be extremely painful.  Keyhole surgery reproduces traditional surgical techniques but through much smaller incisions, which means that patients recover from surgery more quickly.

The Castle Hill team currently do not have a portable trainer which will cost them £5,000 so the cheque from RC Hull Paragon is a great start.  If any Rotary Club or individual would like to donate towards this very worthwhile project please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it