Sports stars back Munster men’s health clinic

SPORTS stars have backed plans to develop Munster’s first men’s health clinic.

Hurling legends Joe Deane and Tomás Mulcahy along with broadcaster and rugby pundit George Hook will front a gala charity function in Cork later this month to help raise funds for the clinic.

It’s A Man’s Thing, which will be hosted at Silversprings Moran Hotel in Cork, is set to become the social event of the year for men in the province.

Organised by the Mercy University Hospital Foundation, the 450-capacity event is already sold out.

It will raise funds for the MUH’s Men’s Health and Prostate Cancer Fund, as well as raising public awareness of men’s health issues.

The top worn by Pádraig Harrington when he won the British Open last year will be raffled on the night.

Organisers are hoping to raise more than €90,000 to support MUH’s plans to develop a specialised Men’s Health Clinic in Cork.

About 1,150 men develop prostate cancer each year in Ireland.

The figure is similar to the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Prostate cancer is responsible for 500 deaths annually or 11% of all cancer deaths among men.

MUH specialises in the management of prostate cancer and urological cancers.

“Through the establishment of the Men’s Health and Prostate Cancer Fund we are committed to raising more than €2.2 million,” a spokesman for the event said. “This funding will then be invested in the provision of seed funding to establish and run the Men’s Health Clinic at MUH.

“This funding will be used to fund specialised nursing and counselling posts and in the development of a database to track patients and monitor the outcomes of our surgical procedures.”

This clinic will be the only clinic of its type in Munster and will work with men from the Munster region suffering from various forms of cancer, in particular prostate and testicular cancer.

It will enable MUH to treat patients in privacy, carry out “same-day” biopsies, which can reduce the delay in treatment by four to six weeks, and develop peer support meetings for newly diagnosed patients.

“We have also made a commitment to purchase an advanced robotic surgical system called a ‘da Vinci Surgical System’,” said the spokesman.

“This system can reduce the incidents of Erectile Dysfunction or incontinence in patients who have had radical prostatectomies — the removal of a cancerous prostate — by up to 15%.”

It’s a Man’s Thing takes place on February 29.