29 September 2015

The inaugural Mercy Christmas Wishes Cancer Ball is set to take place on Friday, 27th November in the Maryborough Hotel & Spa, Cork. The highly anticipated, black-tie event will raise funds for the new Mercy Cancer CARE Centre, which will offer care beyond treatment for cancer patients and their families.

The Christmas Wishes Gala Ball will be the perfect opportunity to kick off the party season, promising an evening of wondrous Christmas enchantment with spellbinding entertainment from swing rock band, The Roaring Forties, and exquisite food and wine, with great prizes up for grabs.

With one in three people in Ireland expected to have cancer at some point in their lives, it is likely that we or someone close to us will have the experience of sitting in a consultation room, being given devastating news. The Mercy Hospital Foundation is building a specialised Cancer CARE Centre that will provide a quiet safe place for patients and families dealing with a cancer diagnosis to come to receive support on their cancer journey, and funds raised through the upcoming Ball will go towards the building of this.

Erica Mulvihill, Cancer Nurse Specialist at The Mercy University Hospital, and member of the Ball committee explains the difference funds will make: “Being a nurse dealing with cancer patients you are their advocate, you are their voice and their guiding hand when adversity strikes. The Cancer CARE Centre at Sheares Street will be hugely beneficial, and as cancer nurses, it will aid our practice immensely at the time of a devastating diagnosis. It will be a safe haven in comfortable, non-intimidating surroundings, where privacy and dignity are paramount; a non-clinical environment where patients can sit with family and nurses and go through the news that they have been diagnosed with cancer.”

Erica continued “If your company, or group of friends or family, is looking for a Christmas Party event, the Mercy Christmas Wishes Cancer Ball is sure to impress. We invite you to come celebrate the Christmas season with us and make a real difference to cancer patients and their families.”

Eimear Keohane, Campaigns and Relationships Manager at the Mercy Hospital Foundation 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 will attend the Ball on November 27th. Thanks to them, The Mercy will be at the forefront of cancer diagnoses, treatment and patient care for the people of Munster.”

Tickets for the Mercy Christmas Wishes Cancer Ball are €100 each and are available online at www.mercyfundraising.ie or by calling (021) 4274076.