NOT even a hurricane was able to stop the provision of prostate cancer treatment at St John of God Bendigo Hospital.

The hospital has been providing brachytherapy – which involves the implantation of radioactive seeds into the prostate to target cancer cells – to treat the disease for 10 years. 

The seeds are flown in from the United States the week before surgery, custom ordered for each patient. 

Urological surgeon Stephen Lindsay said a hurricane in New York once delayed delivery of the seeds to Bendigo.

“They arrived the country the morning of the surgery in Tullamarine and were brought straight up here to surgery,” he said.

“It tested us but it just illustrates how from a technological point of view, we are able to deliver treatment from halfway across the world.”

Mr Lindsay said Bendigo was leading the way in the provision of regional health care.

“We’ve got very good local health care services. Some of them like brachytherapy are very high tech; very cutting edge in terms of the quality of he technology we’re using,” he said.

Bendigo was the first regional hospital in Victoria to offer brachytherapy. 

“To be able to offer these services in a regional setting was very new when we first started and the fact we’re going after 10 years shows it’s still at the cutting edge,” Mr Lindsay said.

He said it made a huge difference to patients to be able to access the treatment in Bendigo rather than travelling to Melbourne. 

“The closest place it’s offered other than Bendigo is the Peter MacCallum Centre. Here they can come in for the procedure, stay overnight, go home the next day and they’re back at work in a week which is really quite remarkable,” he said. 

External radiation took seven weeks of treatment, he said. 

Prostate cancer survivor Damien Saunders was diagnosed with the disease two years ago. 

He received brachytherapy six months after his diagnosis and is now on the road to recovery.

“I’m pretty much cured. Everything is working as it should,” he said. 

Mr Saunders said being able to access the treatment within Bendigo was fantastic.

“It’s takes 10 minutes for me to get to the hospital. It’s easy for my family to visit me and get car parks and accommodation without the hassle of getting down to Melbourne,” he said. 

Mr Saunders advised other men to get regular health tests.