Prost8 raise funds for first focal suite

March 10, 2023

Prostate cancer affects one in eight men worldwide.

Although a well-researched and acknowledged disease, common treatments can be invasive and can leave patients with life-altering consequences.

This means UK charity Prost8 not only has the opportunity to help save lives, but they can also work towards increasing the quality of men’s lives post-treatment.

This year’s Icon Awards saw them obliterate their fundraising target, as they raised enough money to open their first focal treatment suite.

Who are Prost8?

Prost8 is an influential charity making waves in the sector with its campaign to promote modern procedures for prostate cancer.

They were founded by Paul Sayer, a prostate cancer survivor, and their mission is to make the over-treatment of this terrible disease a thing of the past.

Acting on personal experience, Paul believes saving lifestyles is as important as saving lives. Prost8 believes men deserve better lifestyle outcomes following treatment for prostate cancer.

Their message is clear: every year thousands of men with low to medium-grade prostate cancer are being unnecessarily over-treated for their disease, which can cause life-altering side effects.

The statistics around prostate cancer are alarming:

One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer
One person will die from prostate cancer every 45 minutes
12,000 men will be over-treated for their prostate cancer every year
500,000 new diagnoses of prostate cancer in the next ten years

Thankfully, treatment for the disease is constantly advancing.

However, one of the problems that Paul and many other sufferers have found, is that they’re simply not told about these new options.

These new options include a range of treatments called focal ablation, which is when extreme temperatures in the form of a laser are used to destroy cancerous tissue.

Other new treatments include:

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
Cryotherapy
Electroporation (IRE)

As a result of their tireless work in raising funds and awareness around this issue, Prost8 was chosen as the charity partner for this year’s Icon event. Through their involvement with the event, they hoped to raise sufficient funds to establish new focal treatment units that can deliver treatments including ultrasound and cryotherapy.

What is Icon?

Founded by Helen Georgio and Rachael Lewis, “This Is Icon” is a celebration and collaboration of fashion and music to raise awareness and funds for charities through world-class events.

This year, Prost8 was their chosen charity partner.

The event forms part of London Fashion Week. Through hosting catwalk shows, showrooms and static presentations, London Fashion Week showcases over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers. It’s one of the ’Big Four’ fashion weeks, along with New York, Milan and Paris.

Icon 2023

On the 17th of February, Icon’s celebrity Gala and awards ceremony at the Connaught rooms Grand Ballroom kicked off London Fashion Week in true style.

Stars gathered from across the globe and descended upon the ballroom to help raise funds for Prost8’s focal suites.

Notable appearances included Queen’s Brian May, Anita Dobson, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Nick Knowles and Cheddar Gorgeous.

The above, as well as many more, were all nominated for awards thanks to their service and dedication to fashion and music throughout their careers.

Going once, going twice

Prost8 raised a staggering £60,000 at the Icon awards thanks to some incredibly generous donations from both the auction and raffle.

This money will allow them to open their first focal suite which is expected to be in Oxford.

Prost8 founder, Paul Sayer, told London Daily News: “This event has really helped us raise the money to fund focal treatment units, including ultrasound and cryotherapy”.

Paul added: “1 in 8 men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, so it is critical that treatment centres are in place. With 24m adult men in the UK, if just 1 in 8 donated £1 we would reach our £3m target instantly Prost8 hopes to cut out the aggressive procedures that are currently being offered to men with treatable localised disease.”.

Paul is motivated to make his treatment accessible to all who need or want it. Major fundraising events play a huge part in making his plans a reality.

However, these plans come with a hefty price tag. Each focal suite will cost Prost8 around £350,000, meaning events such as Icon are essential to make this treatment accessible to more patients.

Paul plans to deploy at least two suites early this year and two more before the year’s end. Centres such as Bath, Norwich, Newcastle, Sheffield, Fife and Wrexham are on the list, among others.

Solopress support

Partnering with Prost8, Solopress helped support the event with several printed items to spread Paul’s message, create visual impact and get people involved in the party.

Print can make an impression in so many ways. Banners and Flyers have the power to carry hard-hitting information while Selfie Frames effortlessly break the ice at parties and offer an incredible way to get people out of their seats.

What print spiced up the Icon awards?

At the Icon awards, our Selfie Frame brought a fun focus as everyone attending, including the celebrities, got their shot within the frame.

For more ideas on great places to take Selfie Frames, read our blog 10 events you need a Selfie Frame for!

Roller Banners are a brilliant place to stamp your brand on some impressionable print that’s impossible for others to miss.

By adding a QR code, Roller Banners offer the perfect connection from the physical to the online world. They can send people to your social platforms or in the case of a charity event, they can send them to a donation page.

Our Wide Roller Banner became a focal point of the evening as celebrities from all over the world made a beeline to get their photo taken in front of it.

Wide Roller Banners can complement standard Roller Banners perfectly.

At the Icon awards, the wide Banner included all the sponsors of the evening, while the standard size was dedicated to Prost8. It gave a reusable space for them to promote their charity which can be taken to multiple events in the future.

Solopress are proud to support Prost8 in its mission to make the over-treatment of prostate cancer a thing of the past. If you need print to add sparkle at your upcoming event as it did for Prost8, check out the wide range of products on our website.