BRHS’ Ashley Leach is part of a national team raising money and awareness for the fight against prostate cancer – and will travel at least 72km this month to make it happen.

Ashley, a Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse, has joined colleagues around the nation to support The Long Run to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) and start conversations about Australia’s deadliest cancer, which kills 10 Aussie men a day on average.

Her team is the PCFA All Stars and features professionals in the prostate cancer field from around the nation.

Each member of the team, and all participants, will cover 72km in September by walking, running or cycling to support the PFCA.

That distance reflects the fact that 72% of men with prostate cancer will not seek help for the distress or depression caused by their cancer. Seventy per cent of men with prostate cancer also have a 70% increased risk of suicide.

“It’s about talking about it, opening up those conversations within your circle, in your community and in your GP,” Ashley said of The Long Run.

“At the age of 60, you should be talking to your GP about prostate surveillance, getting your PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test done and what it means if you have a high PSA.

 Prostate cancer is now the most common cause of cancer deaths in Australia, Ashley said.

“It’s overtaken breast cancer, and by the age of 85 one-in-five men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Any individual will know someone who has it,” she said.

“I find with my patients that once they feel comfortable talking about it, if they do because it’s up to them, they say, ‘I never realized how many people at the golf club had it, or they knew somebody that had it. Once people are comfortable enough to talk about it.”

Ashley said that apart from the prevalence of prostate cancer in the community, men in rural areas are more likely to delay investigating prostate issues until the cancer is advanced.

She is one of more than 100 Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurses in Australia and is the only one covering East Gippsland.

Ashely’s service reaches people in remote areas with face-to-face, email or over-the-phone consultations that support men through their diagnosis and treatment.

“I’ll do whatever the patient is comfortable with, and you don’t need a GP referral. I have patients who’ve self-referred to the service,” she said.

You can donate to the PCFA All Stars via The Long Run website.

If you need support through your prostate cancer journey, contact Ashley on 0439 418 815.