Queensland-based carrier to stage bumper fundraiser day, as compliance manager pushes for prostate tests to be included in driver medicals
By Brad Gardner | August 13, 2013
SRV Roadfreight Services will stage a bumper fundraiser next month to raise awareness of prostate cancer and will also champion more initiatives in a bid to reduce the rate of men contracting the disease.
The Queensland-based transport operator will take part in the annual Big Aussie Barbie event, which raises money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, by holding a family-friendly barbecue at its Ormeau base.
The event will be held on September 21 from 10am and include a show and shine competition for drivers to display their rigs, hot-rods, a raffle and live music.
SRV Compliance Manager Melanie Cosgrove is the driving force behind the event and says she decided to hold it given it has the potential to affect a large number of people in the trucking industry.
“When you think of the number of males in our industry and the statistics of those whom are likely to suffer from prostate cancer, potentially it can wipe out half of our workforce,” Cosgrove says.
“The main age bracket of the men who are susceptible to it is the average age of an Australian truck driver.”
SRV will continue raising awareness long after the barbecue, with Cosgrove saying one of the company’s tautliner’s will receive a custom paintjob promoting the need for men to get their prostate checked. Vawdrey Trailers is donating the customised curtain.
Cosgrove says 1 cent from each kilometre the truck travels will be donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
“That’s a moving billboard and that will travel up and down the east coast of Australia,” she says.
Cosgrove says her ultimate goal is to have drivers checked – through something as simple as a blood test – each time they go for their medical test.
“My long-term goal is to have it on the medicals so that they are automatically prompted to get it checked. It would be really nice to see it on their driver medical,” she says.
“When you consider that these blokes are going for medicals every three years, it’s an ideal opportunity. They don’t have to have more time off the road or have to schedule something.”
Paccar has offered prizes to be given away at the barbecue fundraiser, including merchandise and a VIP tour of its Bayswater factory in Victoria.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation says the chance of developing prostate cancer rises as men get older or have a history of it in their family. More men die from the disease each year than women die from breast cancer.
It says prostate cancer kills close to 3,000 men in Australia each year and that about 20,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.
