Staff from the Urology Department at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor are taking part in a sponsored walk in aid of prostate cancer.
The group of dedicated staff will be joining members the ‘Trons Dy Dad’ charity group, which has been set up by a group of local councillors and friends, for the walk to raise money and for the charity, Prostate Cymru.
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Linda Williams, said they hoped the event would raise more awareness surrounding the disease. She said: “We have seen an increase in men with prostate cancer in our department over the years and we feel strongly there needs to be more awareness around the disease.
“Men often find it difficult to discuss their health issues and sometimes can ignore symptoms so we hope by taking part we can raise funds towards Prostate Cancer Cymru and also encourage men to get themselves tested if they are experiencing any symptoms.”
In Wales more than 2,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and more than 500 men die from the disease each year.
In Ysbyty Gwynedd the Urology team have seen 280 men in the last year who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but the figures have increased over the past few months.
“I think with the recent celebrities, such as Stephen Fry, speaking publicly about their diagnosis of prostate cancer this has encouraged more men to get tested so this could be a factor of why we are seeing an increase in patients.
“We see a number of patients with different types of cancer, such as testicular, bladder and renal cancer, but it is those with prostate cancer we see the most.”
Cllr Dilwyn Lloyd, of Gwynedd Council, has thanked Linda and her team for their support. He said: “We are extremely grateful to the Urology team at Ysbyty Gwynedd for supporting this event and raising awareness of prostate cancer.
“The ‘Race for Life’ run is well established in Caernarfon now for many years and it’s hoped that this walk could be the start of us men joining in raising funds for good causes.
“For more information please do not hesitate in contacting any member of the committee, go to the Trons Dy Dad facebook page or contact myself personally. We are organising a series of smaller events such as quizzes and other things in the lead up to the main event.”
The walk will take place from the Maes in Caernarfon on 2 September at 11am.
To sponsor Ysbyty Gwynedd’s Urology team visit www.justgiving.com/UroTeamYsbytyGwynedd
Photo: (left to right) Sue Harrison Urology Nurse Practitioner, Delyth Jones Health Care Support Worker, Fiona Thomas, Specialist Nurse and Linda Williams Uro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist from Ysbyty Gwynedd’s Urology Department who will be taking part in the sponsored walk this weekend.
