More than 230 men have benefited from new prostate cancer equipment funded by the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre Trust Fund in the past year.

The ultrasound machine, applications and transducers have cut the time taken to diagnose and treat prostate cancer at Wodonga Hospital, while a stepper and stabiliser package has improved the accuracy of biopsies.

In the first year of its use, the equipment, valued at more than $300,000, has been used for biopsies on 176 men.

It has also allowed Albury Wodonga Health, in partnership with GenesisCare, to become the first regional hospital, and only the second public hospital, in Victoria to offer a rectal spacer program to prostate cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.

Sixty men have accessed the program, which reduces the side effects of radiotherapy, over the past 12 months.

Trust Fund Chair Michelle Hensel said the equipment ensured more patients receive the cancer care they need close to their home and families.

“This equipment is making a huge difference in reducing the time and stress caused by having to travel to Melbourne or Sydney for treatment,” she said.

The investment was made possible through a $256,500 donation by Rutherglen couple, Tony and Jenny Horne, as well as $50,000 donated by the Murray Valley Centre.

Similar equipment was also funded at Northeast Health Wangaratta in 2022.