The $24,000 machine was donated by OceanaGold and Sandvik and has been in use for about five months, but those who made it happen finally met up to see it in person at the hospital’s radiation oncology department yesterday.
Radiation therapist Andre Aumata said the machine had made a huge difference, as some patients needed to be scanned up to five times a day.
The machine was used to scan the bladders of prostate cancer and pelvic cancer patients to get accurate measurements of how full they were.
This was needed for a variety of treatments, such as surgeries or radiotherapy.
The machine would take a lot of pressure off struggling men and their families and would ultimately save lives.
In 2019 the department had no bladder scanner, which meant patients had to wait for hours to use a similar machine from another department.
It also had the benefit of being radiation free, which made a big difference for people who needed to be scanned regularly.
That changed due to Skevington Contracting worker Steve Hall.
That year Mr Hall spent time in the hospital and found the lack of a scanner frustrating, so he spoke to OceanaGold and it donated the department’s bladder scanner.
However now after 120,000 scans it was getting old and would soon be unable to be serviced, Mr Aumata said.
Macraes health and safety superintendent Geoff Guthrie said OceanaGold was planning to provide a new one, but funding for it would have been a few years off.
Fortunately Sandvik had pitched in and provided funds so the scanner could be put in to use as soon as possible, he said.
OceanaGold had also been raising funds for special water bottles for patients that helped them measure their liquid intake.
