Calvary Riverina Hospital breast and oncoplastic surgeon Kate Fitzgerald and general manager Michael Morris with members of local community group Tits and Toggles. Photos: Erin Hee.
A new imaging machine that promises to be a “game-changer” for breast cancer surgery in Wagga has graced the Cavalry Riverina Hospital thanks to the fundraising efforts of a local community group.
Tits and Toggles co-founder Penny Lamont was spurred to take action following her husband’s prostate cancer diagnosis and her own breast cancer diagnosis.
Despite Riverina having one of the highest rates of prostate cancer in the country, she felt that there wasn’t enough awareness or action from the men in the community.
Tits and Toggle donated $100,000 from its fundraising efforts to buy a Trident HD machine for the Cavalry Riverina Hospital.
The Trident HD, the first of its kind in the Riverina, is a specialised device that provides high-resolution X-ray imaging of excised tissue.
The machine significantly reduces theatre time for surgeons such as Calvary Riverina general and oncoplastic breast surgeon Kate FitzGerald, who treated the first patient with the machine in early October.
“I was amazed with the actual image quality. It was superb,” Dr FitzGerald said.
“I could see some of what we call calcifications. I could see them much better on that machine than I could see on the mammogram.
“We had the operation done and finished before we normally would.”
The Trident HD has significantly reduced waiting time for surgeons such as Dr Andrew Thompson.
Before the arrival of this machine, patients had to be under anaesthesia for about 20 to 45 minutes while their tissue samples were analysed, which is an issue as prolonged anaesthesia carries a higher risk of complications, hospital stays and increased costs.
Now, the wait time has reduced to within 20 seconds.
“We can see it straight away,” Dr FitzGerald said.
“If we’re not sure, we can phone [the radiologist] to have a look, so we’re not keeping people asleep on the table while we’re waiting for that result to come back.”
While the machine is particularly valuable for breast cancer operations, Dr FitzGerald said it could also benefit other surgeries.
“So, if you’re doing liver surgery, anything where you’re going to see a solid mass and a normal tissue around it, it can be helpful for lots of different surgeons,” she said.
The Trident HD machine is available to everyone in Wagga and the wider Riverina region who comes to the Calvary Riverina Hospital.
Ms Lamont said there were plans to fund other activities.
“The prostate cancer funds have gone out to different areas throughout the Riverina, so it’s very important that this fundraising was to stay in the Riverina, for the people of the Riverina who were supported by the people of the Riverina,” she said.
“Sorry to say, but boobs are easy to sell. The prostates weren’t so easy.
“In time, we will put more funds towards other activities. As to what’s the next thing, we just have to work out how we’re going to make the money for it this time.”
