21 April 2015

Munster Rugby’s Donncha O’Callaghan swapped a rugby ball for a sledgehammer and hard hat to officially launch the Mercy Hospital Foundation’s appeal to fund the building of a dedicated Cancer Care Centre on the grounds of the Hospital.

€1 million, or €322 per square foot, is required to fund the development of the Mercy Cancer Care Centre, which will be located on Sheares St.; and while a quarter of a million euro has already been raised, funds are urgently required for the next stage of construction. Everyone who contributes a square foot will be represented by a butterfly laid in their honour in the foyer of the new Centre, work on which is hoped to commence in January 2016.

The Cancer Care Centre will provide a quiet, safe place for patients and families dealing with a cancer diagnosis to come to receive support through their cancer journey. It will be more than just a quiet place to go to come to terms with bad news, as the Centre will also offer bereavement counselling, play therapy for young children, and counselling for older children, parents, family members and patients. The Centre will enable the staff at The Mercy to not only treat people physically, but emotionally too.

Moya Muldowney from Cobh, who’s sister Aileen passed away from terminal cancer at just 30 years of age, has shared her family’s story and spoken about what the Cancer Care Centre will mean for other families facing similar situations: “Aileen was just 29 when out of the blue she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was just 30 when she died. That year, as she received treatment at The Mercy, the doctors and nurses didn't just help her physically, they helped Aileen, and our whole family, emotionally too.”

Moya continued “When our family faced Aileen’s diagnosis, it was like having to learn a new language… the stages, the implications, the pain, the treatments, the side effects, the future. We needed someone to help us understand it all so we could support her through it. Every day in The Mercy, someone needs a place to go to cry, or calm down, or talk to someone, or gather their wits or learn more about what is happening, and this is what the Cancer Care Centre will afford them.”

 

Speaking about the necessity of the Cancer Care Centre, Micheál Sheridan, CEO at the Mercy Hospital Foundation said “With one in three of us expected to have cancer at some point in our lives, it is likely we, or someone close to us, will have the experience of sitting in a consultation room and being given devastating news. At The Mercy, we want to make sure that news is told in the most supportive way possible. We are building the specialised Cancer Care Centre next to the Hospital that will provide a dedicated, specialised place for people who are dealing with cancer.”

 

Micheál added “Our mission is to support the Hospital in delivering the highest quality of patient care by raising funds to support advancements and innovation in the treatment and care of patients at the Mercy Hospital, the People’s Hospital. We promise to do our very best to provide you with a world class hospital, right on your doorstep, and this is only possible through the help of our supporters and donors, who we are now urging to dig deep and help us build the Cancer Care Centre.”

 

To make a donation, or find out more about the Mercy Cancer Care Centre visit www.mercyfundraising.ie or call (021) 4274076.