Cancer charities depend on our generosity
ONE IN THREE WILL GET CANCER YET SERVICES ARE UNDER FUNDED
ONE in three people will get cancer at some stage in their lives yet charities and organisations providing services for those affected have to largely depend on voluntary funding.
The latest available figures show that in 2013, there were 497 cases of cancer in Co Louth, affecting 271 males and 226 females. There is scarcely a family in the county who hasn’t been touched by cancer and most turn to the various cancer charities for support, whether it is for information, emotional or financial support. As our population ages, the continuing care and treatment of cancer survivors will become an even more important issue for the health service and the charities who step in to provide vital supports.
A cancer diagnosis is one of the most frightening prospects which a person can face, yet our over-run and under-funded health service is often not in a position to provide the support which patients and their families need to come to terms with their illness.
While many cancers, such as early breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men, are showing improved survival rates as new treatments and targeted therapies are developed, funding for research is still an issue if similar outcomes are to be found for other cancers.
The Irish Cancer Society which was founded in 1963, is financed entirely by voluntary contributions from the public and receives no government funding. To date it has provided €30 million from voluntary donations into hundreds of innovative research projects, which have made over 700 new findings.
It also provides information, education and support for those affected by cancer and their families, from night nursing to its Cancer Nurseline Freephone.
Locally, organisations such as the Cara Cancer Support Centre in Dundalk, the Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre in Drogheda, the North Louth Hospice and Homecare Foundation, the Ardee Hospice, and the Northeast Cancer Research and Education Trust (NECRET) a charity set up to raise funds for equipment, research and clinical trials at the North East oncology centre in Drogheda, all depend on the generosity of the public to provide much needed services.
National events such as Daffodil Day, Shave or Dye, Paint It Pink, Movemember, and the Hospice Coffee mornings help to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society and the Hospice Movement while local charities must also call on public support to bring in the money which they need to keep running.
Louth people are certainly more than willing to support cancer charities, coming up with a wide range of imaginative ideas from head shaves to hosting coffee mornings, from running marathons to skinny dipping.