Mosques in Preston have raised £61,500 for Rosemere Cancer Foundation to help cancer patients at the local hospital, the Asian Image reports.
Representatives from each mosque came together to present the cheque to the cancer foundation on Tuesday.
The donation will go towards the £100,000 cost of buying a new high definition imaging system that can help doctors get a clearer picture to ascertain certain types of cancers at Royal Preston Hospital.
Iqbal Adam from the Preston Muslim Society told the Asian Image: “Thank you to all the Muslim community in the city of Preston for their generous donations. It is our duty to support the local hospital and the service they provide to all the communities.
“In 2015 we raised nearly £40,000 to assist lung cancer diagnosis and this year have managed to raise over £60,000 which was a great effort.
“A big thank you also to all the maddressas and nurseries who took part in the fundraising efforts.
“Thank you to the children from the Little Wonder nursery off Fishwick Parade who were very active this year.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
“Inshallah, we will be doing it again next year and assisting our local services that help all communities is something we are all very keen to do.”
The mosques in Preston who helped with the fundraising included: Masjid Zakariyya, Masjid-e-Quba, Eldon Street Masjid, Masjid-e-Saliheen, Masjid-e-Shahudaa, Masjid-e-Falah, Quwwat-Ul-Islam, Madina Masjid, Masjid-e-Salaam and Jamia Masjid.
When the new system arrives later this month it will be used every day to support the care of patients facing surgery for gynaecological, colorectal and upper GI cancers.
It will allow doctors to examine inside patients’ bodies using a special HD laparoscope fitted with a small infrared camera.
Chief Officer at the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, Sue Thompson, told Asian Image: “We are extremely grateful for this very generous donation.
“Although the imaging system will be based here at the Royal Preston Hospital, it will benefit patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria as the hospital is the specialist provider of colorectal, gynaecological and upper GI cancer surgery for the whole region.”
Mr Nick Wood, Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist and Chief Clinical Information Officer, who made the bid to Rosemere for the kit, said: “The information the imaging system can supply will help us assess and stage a range of cancers to help prevent under or over treating patients.
“It can also be used in bowel cancer surgery, where a section of the intestine has to be removed because it is diseased.
“The images the system is capable of relaying will show us where best to rejoin the intestine in terms of the healthiest tissue to hopefully prevent any future complications.
“I believe it will greatly improve patient quality of life.”
