Queanbeyan has launched a mass prostate cancer screening drive, with local racing star Mark Webber at the wheel, to screen as many men possible for the deadly disease.

The goal of the drive is to save the lives of 200 or more men in the region, as more than 3,000 men die from prostate cancer in Australia each year.

“It’s the first time a cancer testing of this magnitude has been undertaken with up to 13,000 men eligible to be tested and all free of charge,” Mr Webber said.

“One man is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 25 minutes but if it is caught early, they have a 95 per cent chance of survival. I’ve taken the test with Maxwell Plus personally and it was so easy and effective that I want to make sure every man does this one important thing for their health.”

Former Canberra Raiders captain, Terry Campese, is also backing the campaign, and said Australians needs to break down the stigma men have around getting tested.

“Hopefully, myself getting tested can encourage everyone else to put their hand up and come forward. It’s a silent killer, it’s one of the cancers that is hard to detect and it’s a touchy subject, especially with older generation of males – it’s one of those things they don’t like taking about,” Mr Campese said.

“When you start seeing or feeling symptoms it’s too late, so the best time to get tested is now. Make sure you can roll over tomorrow morning to your partner and kids and know you’ll be here to see them grow up and live the rest of your life. The last thing you want to do is wait until it’s too late and it’s bad news.”

The NRL legend says he’s keen to support his good friend Mark Webber’s initative and help get the word out.

“It’s not something you just sit down at the pub with your mates and start talking about who’s had their prostate checked, but it’s important. Why can’t we make it a talking point? Why can’t we head down to the pub and say ‘I just had this test, I’m all fine and dandy’, and encourage your mates to do it?” he said.

“It’s for free, so hopefully we can encourage everyone out there to go get tested and just try and put it into your yearly routine. I’d love everyone to go out and get tested.”

Local Queanbeyan man, Steve Wightman, 65, went to his GP two years ago for his normal testing and was told he had prostate cancer, despite having no symptoms.

“I went to an oncologist and he said, ‘I guarantee you have cancer’ and my wife and I just looked at each other. It felt like the world had caved in,” Mr Wightman said.

“I had a PET scan and it showed I also had a node in my lung which was removed, and it turned out it was cancer too. I then had my prostate removed, and I’m now cancer free.”

Grandfather of four, with one on the way, Mr Wightman said men’s health is so important and wants to encourage blokes to make sure they get tested.

“I had the guys coming up to me saying ‘I feel sorry for you’ and I said ‘I don’t want you to be sorry, I just want for when you get to 40 to go get tested’. When I see my mates now, I just ask if they’ve been tested, and a lot of them have gone out and done it because of me asking,” he said.

“It’s a subject men don’t like to talk about but it’s important and it’s essential. At the end of the day, it’s not just important to me, it’s important to my family. Life’s too short to leave your family behind – if you don’t want to do if for yourself, do it for your loved ones.”

This program is only for residents of Queanbeyan-Palerang region, and at this stage it is unsure if the program will extend to the ACT region for Canberra residents.

To see if you are eligible for the free testing, visit maxwellplus.com/qb

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