Life-saving prostate scanner appeal reaches target

Chair of East Lancs Prostate Cancer Support Group Dave Riley, Stuart Marshall (secretary), Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle, Tracy Cooke (clinical nurse specialist neurology) and Mr Mohan Pillai (consultant neurologist) with the old scanner.

Mr Gordon Birtwistle, who was moved to launch the campaign after his father died from prostate cancer, said he had been overwhelmed by the generosity of Burnley people and said the vital equipment has now been ordered.

The scanner should be up and running and open to patients in around six weeks.

“Negotiations for the base scanner for the hospital have been ongoing and we have managed to get it for £40,000. I wrote the cheque on Friday,” said Mr Birtwistle.

“The response from people in Burnley has been absolutely fantastic. I never believed the appeal would have done so well. We only started the appeal at the end of June. We now need to raise a further £17,000 for the portable prostate scanner and portable bladder cancer scanner.

“We haven’t been given any money from big organisations, this has all come from the people of Burnley giving what they can, from people stopping me in the street to give £5 to two people who have plenty of money giving me £4,000 a piece.

“It was daunting when we first started this but the support we’ve had has been amazing.”

Mr Birtwistle helped to fund the hospital’s current scanner, which he said is now outdated, when he was Mayor of Burnley a decade ago.