Calvary Hospital Auxiliary has joined forces with several fashion retailers to host a Spring fashion parade at the Southern Cross Club in Phillip.

The event, which will be held on August 30, will feature a fashion show, silent auction, door prizes and a light dinner.

All funds raised will go towards the purchase of a Navigator 2.0 Wireless Biopsy Probe, which is used in breast cancer detection and tracking of lymph nodes.

Calvary Hospital Auxiliary president Daphne Ashley said the machine would help improve diagnosis and enhance treatment of breast cancer for women in the ACT.

The device costs more than $67,000. Patients are injected with low-activity radioactive substances and dyes which gives doctors a clear impression of where biopsies and surgical removal should be done.

By reducing the extent of lymph node removal the procedure better identifies what has to be removed and also reduces the risk of lymphoedema arising from lymph node removal or reduction.

Calvary Hospital's senior staff specialist for emergency medicine, Glenn Verheul, said breast cancer was a horrible disease and he described the device as a breakthrough in detection and treatment of breast cancer.

"What women faced before was a lot of surgery, disfiguring surgery, and now the prognosis is much better because of the technology available to them, the ability for pathologists to determine how bad the cancer is and therefore tailoring treatment to it is much easier now because of devices like this so all in all it's a technological modern day breakthrough," Dr Verheul said.

The ACT Chief Health Officer's report for 2014 revealed breast cancer was the most common cancer in women between 2005 and 2009 and the second highest cause of cancer-related deaths in women in 2012. There were 265 new cases of breast cancers in ACT women diagnosed in 2009.

The Spring fashion parade starts at 7pm on August 30. Tickets cost $50 and can be purchased from Mrs Ashley on 0407 835 846.