This article is from page 6 of the 2013-05-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE Irish Cancer Society received just 103 enquiries from Clare last year – that is just .3 per cent of the 28,383 calls being taken nationally.
A spokesperson for the charity said it is hoped that with more awareness even more people with the disease will contact the organisation in the coming year if they need assistance.
With less than half a percent of the calls to the society coming from Clare it is one of the lowest in the country.
However local grown organisations, such as the West Clare Mini Marathon Centre, which is not affiliated with the Irish Cancer Society, is busy providing transport to an from hospital for patients and holistic and psychological support to patients and their families.
In the last month the Irish Cancer Society also announced that it would be providing transport for cancer patients in Clare to and from the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick for treatment.
Other Irish Cancer Society services available to Clare patients include the National Cancer Helpline, which is staffed by specialist cancer nurses; and the Society’s Night Nursing service, which provides care to cancer patients in their last days of life so they can stay at home with their families.
During 2012 the society’s night nurses cared for 1,818 patients, providing 7,350 nights of care. 167 nights of care were provided to cancer patients in Clare.
Financial aid is also available to cancer patients suffering financial hardship as a result of their diagnosis. During 2012 financial aid to the value of € 1,047,461 was provided to 1,753 cancer patients across the country. € 24, 530 worth of financial aid was given to cancer patients in Clare.
The society thanked all those in Clare who supported Daffodil Day 2013, which helps to fund such services.
The charity said however that the bad weather impacted severely on fundraising this year, with funding down 50 per cent.
An emergency appeal was launched to re-coup the shortfall and appeal to those that could not donate as usual due to the weather. The appeal saw just fewer than 30,000 people donate following Daffodil Day, with donations being made online, by phone and by text. The response to the appeal saw the initial shortfall recover to within 20 per cent of the original target.
The society is now encouraging everyone who participated in this year’s Daffodil Day campaign to bank their funds as soon as possible.