AN appeal to fund a surgical robot to fight prostate cancer has been awarded £30,000 by Worcestershire Ambassadors.

The Rory the Robot Appeal, which aims to raise £1.6 million for a surgical robot to treat patients with prostate cancer across Worcestershire, was chosen as one of the Ambassadors’ charities of the year in March earlier this year.

The donation was generated through a number of fundraising efforts held by the ambassadors, including the successful Ambassadors’ Ball in October.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Charity is fundraising for the state of the art surgical robotic system which will allow surgeons to perform minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, which means surgeons operate through a few small incisions rather than large open surgery.

Handing over the cheque, Vince Hopkins, chairman of the Worcestershire Ambassadors said: “We are delighted to be able to help with this charitable cause.

"We chose to support the appeal because of the huge difference Rory will make to patients with prostate cancer in the county.”

Mr Adel Makar, lead cancer clinician at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We are very grateful to the Worcestershire Ambassadors for their contribution to the Rory the Robot Appeal.

"Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. The more people we can get behind our appeal, the sooner we can start transforming treatment for our patients.”

For more information about the Rory the Robot appeal and how you can get involved visit www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/rorytherobot or contact the charity’s fundraising team on 01905 760551 or email fundraising@worcsacute.nhs.uk. You can also donate to the appeal by texting RORY97 £amount to 70070.