Murray Eyles and the Marlborough Prostate Cancer Support Group

A Lot to Like with a Marlborough Man

Murray Eyles is a dedicated volunteer who has led the Marlborough Prostate Cancer Support Group since September 2020.

Murray is typical of men who get diagnosed with prostate cancer as a result of having regular testing. Cancer was a word he says he is accustomed to, having seen his mother battle cancer, which is why since the age of 40 Murray has routinely had prostate checks with his GP.

October 2014 will be a time Murray will never forget. It was when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Now at the age of 70 he stands by his decision to have regular checks, something he is very vocal about with other men and what drives Murray to volunteer to run the Marlborough Prostate Cancer Support Group.

Murray is as passionate about the Marlborough region as he is in creating awareness about prostate cancer and the need for testing and early diagnosis.

Early in February 2021 Murray found out about a new exercise programme called Prost-FIT, a programme designed specifically for men with Prostate Cancer from the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

 Murray started liaising with their local sports Stadium 2000 and the Cancer Society Blenheim. The health manager for the stadium Ricky White was more than happy to allocate a team member to “learn the ropes” of these specific Prost-FIT exercises. Our local Cancer Society got right behind this new exercise group for men and it resulted in the first session 11th August 2021 with 10 attending.

Since then, an average of 8-10 men attend each session, as being in Blenheim some of our group must travel out of the region for treatment.

Murray says, “my own personal perspective is that its great spending time getting some exercise with men that all have a same diagnosis. We now have an informal lunch after our weekly one-hour long session which has proven invaluable where we all share our own journey which has also helped others”.

He expands, “not only are the men benefiting from the exercise they get at Prost-FIT, they are also benefiting from the camaraderie of the group”.

November 2021, we held a breakfast for our local ProstFit men and encouraged their wives to come along and the general comment from the ladies was “I never thought that I would see my husband doing any form of exercise” so keep it going.

The Marlborough Prostate Cancer Support Group and the new Prost-FIT classes in Blenheim receive support from a grant via the Dry July (NZ) Trust. The Prostate Cancer Foundation has been a beneficiary of the Dry July campaign for the past two years and thanks the Dry July (NZ) Trust for their support. PCFNZ is looking forward to another successful Dry July fundraising campaign in 2022 to secure funding to continue to increase access to Prost-FIT for men with prostate cancer around Aotearoa New Zealand.

For more information about the Prostate Cancer Support Groups or how to attend Prost-FIT classes please visit www.prostate.org.nz or call the information line on 0800 477 678.