The month of September is dedicated to Prostate Cancer Awareness. It is a month when all men are encouraged to ensure that they are not one of the possible candidates for causing most deaths among men, prostate cancer. And, it could be avoided.

Every man should have themselves tested depending on their circumstances. All men who have any family history of cancer should take the steps necessary to ensure they are clear of cancer at the age of forty.

All men, at the age of fifty, regardless of family history, should discuss the matter with their doctor and insist in being tested.

There are some signs that may indicate that the prostate is enlarged or cancerous. A man could develop pain in the groin area or while urinating. There could be blood in the urine. But the best warning light is frequent visits to the bathroom. And sadly, there may be no signs at all, which also highlights the need to have a visit with the doctor.

The statistics do not lie. Over 4,000 men died each year in Australia from prostate cancer, while 26,000 who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer are living normal lives today due the research efforts of the Cancer Foundation of Australia.

The Parkes Prostate Cancer Awareness and Support Group, though small in number, are available to advise and support all, including the family, through the process.

A member of the Group may be contacted through the Parkes Neighbourhood Central or one can reach out to the Oncology Nurse at Orange Health Service.

If you’re one of the estimated 20% of Australians that suffer from hayfever, Spring is not a time for celebration but rather a time of sneezing, mucus and the dreaded itchy eyes! Allergic conjunctivitis is the bane of many hay fever sufferers so what is the best way to manage your itchy eyes?

1. Avoid your allergy triggers. Plants, grasses or pollens that trigger your allergy symptoms should be avoided. Try saving outdoor activities for the evening or just before dawn when the pollen count is lower.

2. Keep allergens away. Regularly washing your face, hair and around your eyes, frequently changing your clothing and linen can help to remove the little allergen particles that accumulate.

3. Treat your itchy eyes with medication. Over the counter antihistamine eye rops can provide relief for the symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis. Avoid using the “red eye” drops. These temporarily hide the redness without addressing the cause of your red, itchy eyes. For persistent allergy, use a mast cell stabiliser eyedrop leading up to and during spring to act as a preventative. These are available as a combination drop alongside an antihistamine.

4. Treat any concurrent dry eye disease. Having dry eyes will exacerbate your allergic conjunctivitis symptoms and our tears act as a natural means of flushing allergens out of our eyes. Watch out with taking oral antihistamines as these can cause dry eyes.

Book an appointment at Hansens Optometrists where we can formulate a personalised plan. We can prescribe more effective eye drops and treat other eye problems that might be masquerading as allergy symptoms.

Since being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2021, rugby league legend Royce Simmons has turned his personal battle into a mission to find a cure for dementia. In 2022, he launched the inaugural Royce’s Big Walk, trekking 300 kilometres from Gooloogong to Penrith and raising significant funds for dementia research and awareness.

What began as a single fundraising event quickly became an annual movement. Royce has since completed walks from Dubbo to Bathurst in 2023, continued the campaign in 2024 around Sydney, and walked from Penrith to Mudgee in 2025.

Along the way, thousands of supporters, local communities, rugby league legends and business partners have rallied behind the cause.

This year, Royce Simmons will embark on the Big Walk 2026 from Gilgandra to Cowra.

On Monday, August 24, Rugby League Legend Royce Sommins set off from Gilgandra on the first leg of his 12 day, Big Walk for 2026.

A fundraising Dinner for Royce was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstance but everyone is invited to pop down to the Coachman Hotel Motel on Saturday night 29 August to meet Royce and his fellow walkers. Donations can be made on the website: https://donate.roycesimmonsfoundation.com.au/register/fundraise

August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, making it a great time to focus on one of the most overlooked parts of a child’s wellbeing: their vision.

Good vision is essential for learning, development, coordination, and confidence.

The problem is that children often don’t know when they’re not seeing well. They won’t tell you because they assume everyone sees the world the same way they do.

Instead, they adapt. They might sit closer to the television, tilt their head, avoid reading, or simply appear distracted or reluctant to engage with schoolwork. These changes can be subtle and easy for even the most attentive parent or teacher to miss.

Every child should have a comprehensive eye examination before starting school and then every one to two years after that.

At any age, it’s worth arranging an eye test if your child sits very close to screens or books, has one eye that drifts or turns, persistently tilts their head, squints, rubs their eyes when they’re not tired, loses their place while reading, complains of headaches after school, or suddenly develops a dislike of reading or schoolwork.

School vision screening programs can be helpful, but they don’t detect every eye condition and aren’t a substitute for a comprehensive eye examination. Some childhood eye conditions are genuinely time sensitive. Amblyopia, or “lazy eye”, is highly treatable when detected early, but becomes much more difficult to improve after about seven or eight years of age.

The safety side of the equation is just as important.

Encourage children to spend time outdoors. It’s one of the few measures proven to reduce the risk of children becoming short-sighted, with around two hours outside each day making a real difference.

With spring just around the corner, it’s also worth remembering that UV levels climb quickly at this time of year. Children’s eyes naturally allow more ultraviolet light to reach the retina than adult eyes, making good sun protection especially important. A broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses that meet the Australian Standard are simple, inexpensive ways to help protect their eyes.

The good news is that comprehensive eye examinations for children are covered by Medicare, and you don’t need a referral.

Approximately 20 students from Parkes and surrounds immersed themselves in healthcare careers through the Scrub In Work Experience Program.

Rather than shadowing just one clini­cian and field all week, students received a broad careers taste tester and rotated through 45-minute workshops, facility tours, speed networking and a career path­ways panel.

The teenagers tried out allied health, physiotherapy, social work, nursing, medi­cine, paramedicine and Aboriginal health and education. They learned how to: study realistic 3D printed bullet wounds, take mo­bility measurements, apply plaster casts, engage with stroke simulations and en­gage in a VR assessment of escalating pa­tients in a 6-bed ward.

Participating schools included Parkes High School, Tottenham Central, Peak Hill Central and Parkes Christian School.

Declan, from Parkes High School, Year 10 said, “When they offered this program I decided it might help me with future choic­es and I wanted to try different industries.

The activities we got up to today included nursing, social work, speech pathology and medicine. I originally wanted to do nursing, but after doing things like radiography that really caught my eye and I found an inter­est in that.”

Mia, also from Parkes High School, Year 10 said, “When I graduate I would like to do nursing in the hospital. I would like to help a lot of sick people because I’ve had sick people in my family and have seen how I can help them. We were drilling into a chicken bone and putting a syringe in to in­ject into the bone. Then we put an IV in and learned about what some kids have to deal with when they have speech impediments.”

Scrub In is designed to maximise hands on learning, broaden career awareness, clarify pathways into health, and reduce pressure on staff.

Troy Kelly, Senior Project Officer, Re­gional Industry Education Partnerships said “I think it’s given the students a much broader perspective than if they had gone through a conventional work experience program.”

People passionate about improving health­care in regional, rural and remote areas of NSW are invited to apply to join the Re­gional Health Ministerial Advisory Panel.

The Panel is an independent advisory body that provides strategic advice to the Minister for Health and Regional Health, and the NSW Health Secretary.

Its role is to identify opportunities and solutions that improve healthcare access, outcomes and service delivery across hos­pitals and health support services in re­gional, rural and remote NSW.

The Panel also plays an important role in strengthening community engagement and ensuring local perspectives inform the design and delivery of healthcare services.

Applications are encouraged from people who can represent the interests of regional communities, including Aboriginal people, and those who have knowledge, experi­ence, or expertise in one or more areas, aligned with the NSW Government’s priori­ties for regional, rural and remote health.

The Panel members may be appointed for a term of up to three years and will meet at least every three months.

For more information, including how to apply, visit EOI Regional Health Ministe­rial Advisory Panel or contact MOH-ODS-Regional@health.nsw.gov.au. Applications close on Friday 29 May 2026.

I made an impractical decision as a farm­er’s wife. But I am too far in to let him know that he was right and I was wrong.

I bought a gorgeous outdoor furniture set for our verandah, with cream white cush­ions.

“How do you think that will stay clean?” he asked, eyeing it off as it arrived.

And so it began.

My ongoing mission to prove him wrong.

The work dogs would take full advantage of not being tied up at night, and I’d find them curled up there in the morning, their black bodies a stark contrast against the cream cushions.

But there was one kelpie I felt had earned the right to a little luxury.

Pete. He was retired, and my favourite.

He could shoot around a mob of sheep at record speed, then stand quietly while my baby sprawled all over him, using his back as a cushion.

He’d mustered goats in Queensland. Burnt his paws on hot ground moving thirsty stock closer to water. Found lambs alone

and hungry beside a creek bed. Taught pup after pup how to work. Then shared his kennel with them at night to keep them warm.

And so, I let him have his warm patch of sun on my outdoor lounge.

To sleepily gaze over hills he knew well.

The white dots of sheep he’d moved up the laneway.

The glimmer of dams he’d swum in at the end of a hot day.

At sunset, I’d often walk past the window and see a tired farmer and his trusty dog sitting together, on the outdoor lounge.

A hand gently stroking a soft ear. An easy silence.

A decade of shared moments between them.

A fading pink sky stretched above them.

Deep green hills before them.

And cushions, that used to be cream white, beneath them.

And I think there’s something in that for us too.

We are very good at admiring hard work.

Especially in the country.

We respect grit.

We notice endurance.

We get on with it.

But sometimes we forget that rest matters too.

Not because all the work is done.

But because bodies need it. Minds need it.

Hearts need it.

Sometimes health looks like movement.

Sometimes it looks like strength.

And sometimes it looks like sitting on the verandah at sunset, beside someone who knows the road you’ve walked.

And so I am learning that;Maybe wellbeing isn’t always found in do­ing more.

Maybe sometimes it’s found in the pause.

Let’s make room for that kind of health too.

The kind that knows real rest is not lazi­ness,It’s part of being well.

I hope you find a moment this weekend to sit, and just be.

By Rachel Kerin