Geoff Helisma | Working together, Yamba Golf & Country Club, Yamba Lions Club and Mitre 10 Yamba have raised a total of $15,000, which will be donated to prostate cancer research. The golf club held its annual tradies golf day in December last year, at which $5,000 was raised. Mitre 10 sponsored the event and Yamba Lions volunteers helped out on the day. Yamba Lions has contributed a further $10,000, having chosen prostate cancer research as the recipient of its major charitable fundraising efforts. “It’s a big killer in the community,” said Lions secretary, Peter Ross. “About nine men die in Australia each day.” According to Cancer Australia these deaths equate to 12.7 per cent of all male cancer-related deaths. For 2017 it has been estimated that of all new cancers, 16,665 prostate cancers were diagnosed (23.1 per cent of all cancers), making it the second most common cancer after breast cancer (female), which was measured at 17,586 or 28.4 per cent. However, the good news is that, according to Australian Prostate Cancer Research, “if detected early, prostate cancer has a survival rate beyond five years … of at least 95 per cent”. The research centre recommends that “If you are over 40 years of age you should talk to your GP about PSA testing for prostate cancer … One in six Australian[men] will get prostate cancer before the age of 85”. The golf club’s general manager, Luke Stephenson, said it was appropriate that the money raised at the tradies golf day was donated towards prostate cancer research, because “they were mostly blokes, who don’t want to talk about it”. The golf club also sponsored a trade night held the previous evening. Lions Australia is running a campaign to support prostate cancer research: “The main beneficiary of the project is the Mater Prostate Cancer Research laboratory (MMRI) that is working to develop immunotherapy treatment of patients with prostate cancer.” More information is available here: www.materfoundation.org.au/what-we-do/news