Peter Spohr

Ms JENNY AITCHISON (Maitland—Minister for Regional Transport and Roads)—Thank you to Ashtonfield's Peter Spohr who has turned a prostate cancer diagnosis into a chance to advocate for awareness and funds to fight the disease. At 60 years of age Peter was diagnosed with prostate cancer, having experienced no symptoms and has had surgery to resolve the disease in June. That month Peter joined Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia's Walk for Him campaign, which saw hundreds of men and women across the country walk 25,000kms during Men's Health Week, raising awareness and funds to fight the disease. The Men's Health Week campaign ran from June 10 to June 16 and Peter raised a total of $4,300. Peter is part of a local cycling group and usually rides 60km each Saturday to keep fit. Approximately 239 men in Maitland and over 24,000 nationally will be diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. However, if caught early, the survival rate for the following 5 years is approximately 95%. Awareness saves lives, improving action on early detection and treatment, thank you Peter for your advocacy.