The Gambaro Family and The Wesley Hospital: A Partnership Supporting Better Prostate Cancer Care

For more than a decade, the Gambaro family and community have built an important relationship with The Wesley Hospital in Brisbane, helping raise awareness and significant funding for prostate cancer care.

What began as a fundraising luncheon has developed into an enduring partnership between a well-known Brisbane family, the wider community and the clinicians caring for men with prostate cancer.

The result is about much more than fundraising. It is about helping provide men with access to modern diagnostic technology, advanced urological surgery, specialist nursing support and multidisciplinary cancer care.

A Brisbane Partnership With a Purpose

The Gambaro family has a long history in Brisbane hospitality and community fundraising. Prostate cancer became a particularly personal cause for the family, leading to an ongoing partnership with The Wesley Hospital through the annual Gambaro Prostate Cancer Care and Cancer Care Luncheon.

The relationship stretches back well over a decade. The Wesley reported on the fourth annual Gambaro-Wesley prostate cancer luncheon as early as 2014, when the event was already combining fundraising with education about prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Since then, the luncheon has grown substantially.

In 2024, the Gambaro community raised more than $545,000 at the annual prostate cancer care luncheon, with funds directed towards enhancing prostate cancer services and treatment at The Wesley Hospital.

By 2025, The Wesley reported that the Gambaro community had raised more than $2 million over more than a decade of support, with that year’s event contributing another $450,000 towards prostate and palliative care.

That is an extraordinary example of what can happen when community philanthropy and specialist healthcare pull in the same direction.

Supporting Urology and Prostate Cancer Care at The Wesley

Prostate cancer management has changed dramatically over the past two decades.

Modern care may involve:

• PSA testing and clinical assessment
• Multiparametric prostate MRI
• Transperineal prostate biopsy
• PSMA PET imaging
• Active surveillance
• Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy
• Radiation therapy
• Medical oncology
• Specialist prostate cancer nursing
• Pelvic floor and continence rehabilitation
• Sexual rehabilitation
• Long-term cancer surveillance

The Wesley has developed an integrated approach in which urologists work alongside radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, specialist nurses and other healthcare professionals.

The hospital has also been an important centre for the development of robotic urological surgery in Queensland. The Wesley previously reported that it was the first private hospital in Australia to operate two da Vinci robotic surgical systems, alongside a multidisciplinary prostate cancer service incorporating advanced imaging and specialist nursing care.

Where Gambaro Fundraising Makes a Difference

The importance of the Gambaro-Wesley relationship is perhaps best understood by looking beyond the dollar figure.

Community fundraising can help a hospital invest in technology, services and people that improve the patient journey.

The Wesley has reported that Gambaro community support has contributed to prostate cancer treatments, equipment and services, as well as funding the Prostate Cancer Specialist Support Nurse position. More recent fundraising has also supported palliative care services.

For a man receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis, these services can matter enormously.

Treatment is only one chapter of the story. Patients may also need help understanding a new diagnosis, choosing between treatment options, preparing for surgery, managing continence and sexual function after treatment, and navigating the psychological impact of cancer on themselves and their families.

This is where philanthropy becomes something tangible rather than an abstract donation.

Supporting Robotic Urological Surgery

Robotic surgery has become an important part of contemporary urological practice, particularly for prostate cancer.

During a robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy, the surgeon operates through small incisions using highly articulated instruments and a magnified three-dimensional view of the operative field.

For appropriately selected patients, the minimally invasive approach can facilitate precise dissection while generally allowing earlier mobilisation and recovery compared with traditional open surgery.

The technology itself, however, is only one component of successful robotic surgery. The experience of the surgeon, anaesthetic team, theatre staff, nursing team and postoperative rehabilitation services remains fundamental.

The Wesley has specifically highlighted how philanthropic support has helped provide advanced surgical equipment used in prostate cancer care. In one patient story published by the hospital, a man undergoing robotic prostate cancer surgery described the direct importance of donor-funded technology to his treatment and recovery.

More Than Equipment

One of the strengths of the Gambaro-Wesley partnership is that its impact extends beyond purchasing medical technology.

The prostate cancer journey can involve difficult conversations about cancer control, urinary continence, erectile function, relationships and quality of life.

Specialist prostate cancer nurses can provide a valuable bridge between the patient, family and treating medical team.

The Wesley has specifically credited community support with funding its specialist prostate cancer nursing service, supporting men from diagnosis through treatment and recovery.

That human element matters.

A sophisticated robot may help perform an operation, but it cannot answer the anxious question a patient thinks of two days later. It cannot guide a man through pelvic floor rehabilitation or reassure a family trying to understand what comes next.

Modern prostate cancer care needs both technology and people.

Raising Awareness Is Just as Important

The Gambaro luncheons have also helped bring prostate cancer out of the shadows.

Men are not always enthusiastic visitors to doctors’ waiting rooms. Symptoms can be ignored, PSA testing postponed and conversations about urinary or sexual function quietly filed in the mental drawer marked deal with later.

Unfortunately, prostate cancer does not read that filing system.

Events such as the Gambaro Cancer Care Lunch provide an opportunity to talk openly about men’s health, prostate cancer detection and modern treatment options.

Previous Gambaro-Wesley events have included Wesley urologists, prostate cancer specialists, nurses and prostate cancer survivors discussing diagnosis, imaging, treatment and recovery.

The message is simple: talking about prostate health can save lives.

A Community Around the Patient

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the Gambaro affiliation with The Wesley Hospital is the community it has helped create around prostate cancer care.

A prominent Wesley urologist has described the Gambaro family’s contribution as extending beyond fundraising by helping create connections between patients and medical teams.

That captures the philosophy particularly well.

Excellent prostate cancer treatment requires more than an operation or a radiation machine. It requires experienced clinicians, diagnostic expertise, nursing support, rehabilitation, technology, research and a healthcare system capable of bringing those pieces together.

Community support can help strengthen every link in that chain.

Looking to the Future

Prostate cancer care continues to evolve rapidly.

More accurate imaging, increasingly targeted biopsy techniques, robotic surgery, focal therapies, advanced radiation treatments and new systemic therapies are allowing treatment to become progressively more individualised.

At the same time, there is increasing recognition that success cannot be measured simply by whether a cancer has been removed.

Cancer control, urinary function, sexual function, emotional wellbeing and return to normal life all matter.

The long-standing relationship between the Gambaro community and The Wesley Hospital demonstrates how philanthropy can help a specialist medical service continue to evolve alongside these advances.

The Gambaro Group itself describes its relationship with The Wesley as a partnership supporting its annual prostate cancer awareness fundraising activities and prostate cancer research.

More Than a Luncheon

There will always be good food, conversation and a little competitive bidding at a charity auction.

But behind the annual Gambaro event is something considerably more important.

It represents more than a decade of sustained community support for men with prostate cancer and their families.

More than $2 million raised.

Better access to technology and treatment.

Specialist nursing support.

Greater awareness of prostate cancer.

And a continuing investment in the future of prostate cancer and urological care at The Wesley Hospital.

For the urologists and multidisciplinary teams caring for these men, that support provides another valuable tool in the fight against prostate cancer.

For patients and their families, its value is simpler:

better care, better support and greater hope for life beyond a prostate cancer diagnosis.

So, if you want to contribute and be a part of progress in the fight against prostate cancer, raise your hand and become involved.

This article provides general information about prostate cancer and urological care and should not replace individual medical advice. Men concerned about their prostate health, PSA result or prostate cancer risk should discuss their circumstances with their GP or urologist.