Nurses head off prostate cancer admissions

Emergency departments have seen a 60 per cent reduction in admissions from men suffering from prostate cancer who receive the care of specialist nurses, a groundbreaking report shows.

Emergency departments have seen a 60 per cent reduction in admissions from men suffering from prostate cancer. Picture: Josie Hayden

Emergency departments have seen a 60 per cent reduction in admissions from men suffering from prostate cancer who receive the care of specialist nurses, a groundbreaking report has shown, sparking calls to expand the service.

The findings from an independent report by the University of Queensland’s Centre for the Business and Economics of Health has also revealed providing specialist nurses to prostate cancer patients saves the healthcare system up to $20m each year.

Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia director of nursing Sally Sara, who is calling for the service to be expanded, said the hospital-based program provides an expert to turn to, as opposed to the emergency room.

“It’s about having that primary point of contact who men can to speak to on the phone, talk about what’s going on and get some advice before things become a problem,” Ms Sara said.

“Specialist nurses can initiate action early so issues are called and treated early before they get to the stage where someone might be quite unwell and ends up being admitted to hospital.

“It may be as simple as a man ringing a nurse after surgery and describing symptoms that sound like an infection, and the nurse can fax a pathology company so he can go straight away,” she said.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the country, with 70 Australian men diagnosed each day.

Director of nursing Sally Sara oversees the hospital-based prostate cancer nurse program. Picture: Supplied

Ms Sara has overseen the program grow from a 12-person pilot study 12 years ago to a nationwide service with 110 nurses based in all major regional areas and capital cities – trained by prostate cancer experts like herself.

She said the findings indicate an extension of the program will further benefit an overburdened healthcare system and the wellbeing of Australian men.

“The report recognised that having these nurses really helped with hospital avoidance and it came straight from the horse’s mouth. It’s oncologists, urologists, and other health professionals who are reporting back to us saying they noticed that since these positions have been in place, those unplanned admissions have dropped because of early intervention,” Ms Sara said.

“There is excellent evidence that the program itself has generated a positive return financially but also that there is a really big impact in health related quality of life … men have contacted us and said they wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for the nurse who kept them going, encouraged them to go to the appointments, or let them talk through their worries.

“It is a very trusted relationship the prostate cancer nurses build with the men they care for and their families as well.”

Husband, father, and Gulf War Naval veteran Paul Bain, 54, said highly-trained specialist nurses were helping men identify and cope with a disease that often goes unnoticed.

“As someone who’s going through having to deal with all the implications of the disease, a situation for me that came out of left-field completely, it has been quite a journey through various stages of treatment, emotion, and mental and physical fatigue that we’ve got to deal with,” Mr Bain said.

Paul Bain ringing the bell after his first round of radiotherapy finished in February 2021. Picture: Supplied

Paul Bain at home in Royalla in July 2020 three weeks after his radical prostatectomy. Picture: Supplied

“We all appreciate nurses and people in the health community in general but to have some of these specialists that are obviously focused on the intricacies around this particular disease is just fantastic and good peace of mind during what can be a really tricky time.”

Mr Bain was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2020 after his doctor decided to give him a prostate-specific antigen test (PSA) during a routine check-up, simply because of his age.

The Royalla father was fit, healthy, and asymptomatic despite having an aggressive form of cancer doctors said would have killed him before Christmas that year if not for the discovery.

Four years later, Mr Bain is recovering from another round of radiotherapy after the cancer metastasised to his ribs. He said his story speaks to the value of specialist care and greater awareness about the disease.

“Men aren’t great with talking about their health and if they don’t have support networks or family around them as they go through (cancer) it can be really difficult to deal with,” he said.

“The nurses have been amazing for me on my own particular journey and I talk to them at different times about how to approach treatment from the mental to the physical changes you go through.

“Generations ago a lot of men would have just died with prostate cancer and it is a slow growing disease in most instances so it can be overlooked … but I think it’s so important men don’t take it lightly.”