Prostate Scotland awareness event at Lodge Doric Kilwinning

The event at the Lodge Doric Kilwinning in the town attracted around 40 people, with a series of confidential conversations taking place, while information from the Prostate Scotland charity was distributed to those who came along.

At the event, the Port Glasgow Royal Arch Chapter 900 made a generous donation to the Prostate Scotland charity.

The 'coffee and chat' session included the presentation of a donation to Prostate Scotland. (Image: Alex Craig)

The ‘coffee and chat’ session was part of a partnership set up 16 months ago between Prostate Scotland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland, which has seen more than £1.1 million donated by Masons across Scotland to support the charity’s work in recent years.

The charity’s awareness campaign aims to tackle the high rate of deaths from prostate cancer in the UK, with one man thought to die as a result of the disease every 45 minutes.

Of all the cancers, however, prostate cancer is the most treatable if caught early and has a very high treatment success rate from early detection.

In addition to raising awareness of the disease, Prostate Scotland provides a support network for people who suffer from the condition.

Several members of the Grand Lodge of Scotland have unsdergone training to champion the cause and raise awareness, with the three main governing bodies of Masons in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde joining forces to help spread the word.

John Malcolm, co-ordinator of the joint initiative in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, said: “The aim of this joint initiative is simply to make men and their partners aware of the risk factors around prostate disease and to identify the higher risk groups.

“At no time do any of the trained champions offer any medical advice or enter into discussion regarding treatment options. Firstly, each man diagnosed is unique and will have a treatment plan specific to him and secondly treatments must be a matter for health care professionals. Our campaign is making men and their partners aware.

John Malcolm is the initiative's co-ordinator and says it's been a great success over its 16 months in operation. (Image: Alex Craig) “Awareness is key as research has shown that a high percentage of men don't know about prostate issues, where in the body it is, or its function, and certainly don't know about risk groups.

“Sadly, few men know that over 50 years of age you are entitles to a PSA test, with or without symptoms. One GP recently wrote that a significant number – 25 to 33 per cent - of prostate cancers detected in his practice were identified by a PSA test on men with no symptoms.

“A PSA test is not definitive in itself, but certainly acts as a trigger for further investigations. But again, we don't enter into any detail on the medical investigation process, other than the simple PSA test.

“Our joint campaign has been a success over last 16 months.

“It sounds terrible when you think getting men diagnosed with cancer is a success, but it’s early intervention that’s the key."

“If we stop one early death it’s worth it, but anecdotal evidence suggests we’ve saved a good few.”