Daffodil fundraiser tomorrow

Every three minutes someone in Ireland gets a cancer diagnosis, and every hour someone dies from cancer. While they may seem like terrifying figures - they also show that so many people are surviving cancer because of incredible medical advances being made all the time.

Most recent data from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland shows that 1,251 people in Meath were diagnosed with cancer over a 12 month period.
Sadly people still die from cancer, but most often surrounded by their families and with the comforting help of hospice staff to ease them on their journey.
It’s that time of the year again when the Irish Cancer Society holds its biggest fundraiser - Daffodil Day - which is coming up on Friday. The money raised on Daffodil Day funds the essential night nursing service for cancer patients that families are so grateful for, as well as vital cancer research.
There will be fund raising in every town, village and parish in Meath on Friday and each year Daffodil Day is organised in Ashbourne by the dynamic team of Carmel Conway, Margaret Murray and Madeleine Harbison, and they all have their own stories to tell.
They co-ordinate the various fund raising stations in Ashbourne on Daffodil Day, including the local garages and five other places around the town.
They will also host a coffee morning on 31st March for St Francis Hospice in memory of Carmel’s sister, Bernie who died earlier this year.
Margaret Murray has been raising funds for Daffodil Day for over ten years since her husband, Jody Murray died.
“I volunteered to help and somehow over the years I drifted into organising it,” she says.
“Hospice Care is fantastic and I wanted to give something back.”
Jody’s death ten years ago was rather sudden and rapid.
“Our youngest had just finished college and we were just getting to the stage where we could start travelling and doing other things with our lives,
“We had been in the US and when we came back he wasn’t feeling well.
“He had a heap of tests and that was it - he died in a matter of weeks.
“We didn’t have homecare because he was in hospital in Blanchardstown, but we had a Daffodil nurse, Anne Marie Lynch from St Francis’ Hospice, and she was wonderful - very, very supportive.”
“I couldn’t say enough good things about her,” says Margaret. “We were with him when he died and we will always be grateful to the hospice,” she says.
Carmel Conway got involved around five years ago when Margaret persuaded her to help out.
Her late sister Bernie Dowling in Skerries had been a fund raiser for 30 years, before Carmel got involved.
Sadly, Bernie passed away just after Christmas and experienced the service at first hand herself.
Carmel recalls that her eldest brother, Jack, died 30 years ago from cancer before there was much in the line of hospice homecare. He died in hospital.
Bernie got involved in fundraising for the Irish Cancer Society and Daffodil Day at that time, and when Carmel got involved in Ashbourne, they had great fun and rivalry over who would raise the most money.
Sadly Bernie died in January.
“She wasn’t feeling well before Christmas and one month after diagnosis she was dead,” Carmel explains.
She died of pancreatic cancer and the hospice were there all the time, minding her at home and they arranged for her to have a Daffodil nurse at night.
“They provide a wonderful service and it gives so much relief to the family. It makes an awful difference to the patients and their families. They know exactly what to do and it is only when if affects your own family that you realise the work that they do,” Carmel says.
Carmel says that people are very willing to help fund-raise and are also very generous. “We draw up a rota and people do two hour shifts at the various sites,” she explains.
Students of Ashbourne Community School are also get very much involved in the fundraising effort and have been doing for years.
Madeleine Harbison who works at the school said there is a wonderful sense of co operation as adults, young people and senior citizens work together to raise funds on Daffodil Day.
She explains that the school had been involved in fund raising for the Irish Cancer Society for over 20 years, initially with the late Josephine Reynolds and Madeleine got involved around 15 years ago.
“Then Margaret and Carmel suggested we work together and there is great co-operation between the school community and the local community.
“When we are collecting, it is amazing the way people come up and want to tell their own personal stories - or else someone comes, hands you a note and walks away and you know they have a story too.
“There is a great rapport and co operation between the local community, the school and the Irish Cancer Society and we always do well here in Ashourne.
“My own father passed away from cancer in 2002 - so Daffodil Day will always have a place in my heart,” she says.

Daffodil Day supporters have raised over €66million for people affected by cancer in Ireland since the inaugural Daffodil Day in 1988. Since then Daffodil Day has become a vital fundraiser involving communities across Ireland who come together to support cancer patients and their families.
 RTE’s Dancing with the Stars contestant, testicular cancer survivor Des Bishop, was on hand to launch the day recently. The comedian, who lost his father to lung cancer, urged members of the public to show their support for the growing number of people being diagnosed with cancer. 
The annual event sees hundreds of passionate volunteers in every county in Ireland take to the streets to help to fund services including the Society’s Night Nursing service, which in 2016 delivered over 8,000 nights of care to cancer patients in their homes. Some 75 cancer patients in Meath received 343 nights of care through the Society’s Night Nursing service in 2016, while 600 journeys were facilitated for 47 patients from Meath who used the Volunteer Driver Service last year.
The Service currently operates in 21 hospitals around the country and transports patients to and from their chemotherapy treatment.

Grants totalling €13,850 were provided to 18 families in Meath through the Society’s Financial Support Programme which supports parents of children who are undergoing cancer treatment and experiencing financial hardship.
Money raised also funds innovative cancer research projects, with €20m invested into lifesaving research since 2010. This investment has supported more than 150 cancer researchers to work on a diverse range of individual or collaborative projects that will ultimately lead to better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer.
The survival rates for cancer are rising thanks to ongoing investment into cancer research, which is improving how cancer is detected and treated. Six out of ten people are now surviving cancer compared to four out of ten 20 years ago.

 

 

 

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR DAFFODIL DAY THIS FRIDAY 

Every three minutes someone in Ireland gets a cancer diagnosis, and every hour someone dies from cancer. While they may seem like terrifying figures - they also show that so many people are surviving cancer because of incredible medical advances being made all the time.

Most recent data from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland shows that 1,251 people in Meath were diagnosed with cancer over a 12 month period.
Sadly people still die from cancer, but most often surrounded by their families and with the comforting help of hospice staff to ease them on their journey.
It’s that time of the year again when the Irish Cancer Society holds its biggest fundraiser - Daffodil Day - which is coming up on Friday. The money raised on Daffodil Day funds the essential night nursing service for cancer patients that families are so grateful for, as well as vital cancer research.
There will be fund raising in every town, village and parish in Meath on Friday and each year Daffodil Day is organised in Ashbourne by the dynamic team of Carmel Conway, Margaret Murray and Madeleine Harbison, and they all have their own stories to tell.
They co-ordinate the various fund raising stations in Ashbourne on Daffodil Day, including the local garages and five other places around the town.
They will also host a coffee morning on 31st March for St Francis Hospice in memory of Carmel’s sister, Bernie who died earlier this year.
Margaret Murray has been raising funds for Daffodil Day for over ten years since her husband, Jody Murray died.
“I volunteered to help and somehow over the years I drifted into organising it,” she says.
“Hospice Care is fantastic and I wanted to give something back.”
Jody’s death ten years ago was rather sudden and rapid.
“Our youngest had just finished college and we were just getting to the stage where we could start travelling and doing other things with our lives,
“We had been in the US and when we came back he wasn’t feeling well.
“He had a heap of tests and that was it - he died in a matter of weeks.
“We didn’t have homecare because he was in hospital in Blanchardstown, but we had a Daffodil nurse, Anne Marie Lynch from St Francis’ Hospice, and she was wonderful - very, very supportive.”
“I couldn’t say enough good things about her,” says Margaret. “We were with him when he died and we will always be grateful to the hospice,” she says.
Carmel Conway got involved around five years ago when Margaret persuaded her to help out.
Her late sister Bernie Dowling in Skerries had been a fund raiser for 30 years, before Carmel got involved.
Sadly, Bernie passed away just after Christmas and experienced the service at first hand herself.
Carmel recalls that her eldest brother, Jack, died 30 years ago from cancer before there was much in the line of hospice homecare. He died in hospital.
Bernie got involved in fundraising for the Irish Cancer Society and Daffodil Day at that time, and when Carmel got involved in Ashbourne, they had great fun and rivalry over who would raise the most money.
Sadly Bernie died in January.
“She wasn’t feeling well before Christmas and one month after diagnosis she was dead,” Carmel explains.
She died of pancreatic cancer and the hospice were there all the time, minding her at home and they arranged for her to have a Daffodil nurse at night.
“They provide a wonderful service and it gives so much relief to the family. It makes an awful difference to the patients and their families. They know exactly what to do and it is only when if affects your own family that you realise the work that they do,” Carmel says.
Carmel says that people are very willing to help fund-raise and are also very generous. “We draw up a rota and people do two hour shifts at the various sites,” she explains.
Students of Ashbourne Community School are also get very much involved in the fundraising effort and have been doing for years.
Madeleine Harbison who works at the school said there is a wonderful sense of co operation as adults, young people and senior citizens work together to raise funds on Daffodil Day.
She explains that the school had been involved in fund raising for the Irish Cancer Society for over 20 years, initially with the late Josephine Reynolds and Madeleine got involved around 15 years ago.
“Then Margaret and Carmel suggested we work together and there is great co-operation between the school community and the local community.
“When we are collecting, it is amazing the way people come up and want to tell their own personal stories - or else someone comes, hands you a note and walks away and you know they have a story too.
“There is a great rapport and co operation between the local community, the school and the Irish Cancer Society and we always do well here in Ashourne.
“My own father passed away from cancer in 2002 - so Daffodil Day will always have a place in my heart,” she says.

Daffodil Day supporters have raised over €66million for people affected by cancer in Ireland since the inaugural Daffodil Day in 1988. Since then Daffodil Day has become a vital fundraiser involving communities across Ireland who come together to support cancer patients and their families.
 RTE’s Dancing with the Stars contestant, testicular cancer survivor Des Bishop, was on hand to launch the day recently. The comedian, who lost his father to lung cancer, urged members of the public to show their support for the growing number of people being diagnosed with cancer. 
The annual event sees hundreds of passionate volunteers in every county in Ireland take to the streets to help to fund services including the Society’s Night Nursing service, which in 2016 delivered over 8,000 nights of care to cancer patients in their homes. Some 75 cancer patients in Meath received 343 nights of care through the Society’s Night Nursing service in 2016, while 600 journeys were facilitated for 47 patients from Meath who used the Volunteer Driver Service last year.

The Service currently operates in 21 hospitals around the country and transports patients to and from their chemotherapy treatment.

Grants totalling €13,850 were provided to 18 families in Meath through the Society’s Financial Support Programme which supports parents of children who are undergoing cancer treatment and experiencing financial hardship.
Money raised also funds innovative cancer research projects, with €20m invested into lifesaving research since 2010. This investment has supported more than 150 cancer researchers to work on a diverse range of individual or collaborative projects that will ultimately lead to better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer.
The survival rates for cancer are rising thanks to ongoing investment into cancer research, which is improving how cancer is detected and treated. Six out of ten people are now surviving cancer compared to four out of ten 20 years ago.

 

 

 

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR DAFFODIL DAY THIS FRIDAY 

Every three minutes someone in Ireland gets a cancer diagnosis, and every hour someone dies from cancer. While they may seem like terrifying figures - they also show that so many people are surviving cancer because of incredible medical advances being made all the time.

Most recent data from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland shows that 1,251 people in Meath were diagnosed with cancer over a 12 month period.
Sadly people still die from cancer, but most often surrounded by their families and with the comforting help of hospice staff to ease them on their journey.
It’s that time of the year again when the Irish Cancer Society holds its biggest fundraiser - Daffodil Day - which is coming up on Friday. The money raised on Daffodil Day funds the essential night nursing service for cancer patients that families are so grateful for, as well as vital cancer research.
There will be fund raising in every town, village and parish in Meath on Friday and each year Daffodil Day is organised in Ashbourne by the dynamic team of Carmel Conway, Margaret Murray and Madeleine Harbison, and they all have their own stories to tell.
They co-ordinate the various fund raising stations in Ashbourne on Daffodil Day, including the local garages and five other places around the town.
They will also host a coffee morning on 31st March for St Francis Hospice in memory of Carmel’s sister, Bernie who died earlier this year.
Margaret Murray has been raising funds for Daffodil Day for over ten years since her husband, Jody Murray died.
“I volunteered to help and somehow over the years I drifted into organising it,” she says.
“Hospice Care is fantastic and I wanted to give something back.”
Jody’s death ten years ago was rather sudden and rapid.
“Our youngest had just finished college and we were just getting to the stage where we could start travelling and doing other things with our lives,
“We had been in the US and when we came back he wasn’t feeling well.
“He had a heap of tests and that was it - he died in a matter of weeks.
“We didn’t have homecare because he was in hospital in Blanchardstown, but we had a Daffodil nurse, Anne Marie Lynch from St Francis’ Hospice, and she was wonderful - very, very supportive.”
“I couldn’t say enough good things about her,” says Margaret. “We were with him when he died and we will always be grateful to the hospice,” she says.
Carmel Conway got involved around five years ago when Margaret persuaded her to help out.
Her late sister Bernie Dowling in Skerries had been a fund raiser for 30 years, before Carmel got involved.
Sadly, Bernie passed away just after Christmas and experienced the service at first hand herself.
Carmel recalls that her eldest brother, Jack, died 30 years ago from cancer before there was much in the line of hospice homecare. He died in hospital.
Bernie got involved in fundraising for the Irish Cancer Society and Daffodil Day at that time, and when Carmel got involved in Ashbourne, they had great fun and rivalry over who would raise the most money.
Sadly Bernie died in January.
“She wasn’t feeling well before Christmas and one month after diagnosis she was dead,” Carmel explains.
She died of pancreatic cancer and the hospice were there all the time, minding her at home and they arranged for her to have a Daffodil nurse at night.
“They provide a wonderful service and it gives so much relief to the family. It makes an awful difference to the patients and their families. They know exactly what to do and it is only when if affects your own family that you realise the work that they do,” Carmel says.
Carmel says that people are very willing to help fund-raise and are also very generous. “We draw up a rota and people do two hour shifts at the various sites,” she explains.
Students of Ashbourne Community School are also get very much involved in the fundraising effort and have been doing for years.
Madeleine Harbison who works at the school said there is a wonderful sense of co operation as adults, young people and senior citizens work together to raise funds on Daffodil Day.
She explains that the school had been involved in fund raising for the Irish Cancer Society for over 20 years, initially with the late Josephine Reynolds and Madeleine got involved around 15 years ago.
“Then Margaret and Carmel suggested we work together and there is great co-operation between the school community and the local community.
“When we are collecting, it is amazing the way people come up and want to tell their own personal stories - or else someone comes, hands you a note and walks away and you know they have a story too.
“There is a great rapport and co operation between the local community, the school and the Irish Cancer Society and we always do well here in Ashourne.
“My own father passed away from cancer in 2002 - so Daffodil Day will always have a place in my heart,” she says.

Daffodil Day supporters have raised over €66million for people affected by cancer in Ireland since the inaugural Daffodil Day in 1988. Since then Daffodil Day has become a vital fundraiser involving communities across Ireland who come together to support cancer patients and their families.
 RTE’s Dancing with the Stars contestant, testicular cancer survivor Des Bishop, was on hand to launch the day recently. The comedian, who lost his father to lung cancer, urged members of the public to show their support for the growing number of people being diagnosed with cancer. 
The annual event sees hundreds of passionate volunteers in every county in Ireland take to the streets to help to fund services including the Society’s Night Nursing service, which in 2016 delivered over 8,000 nights of care to cancer patients in their homes. Some 75 cancer patients in Meath received 343 nights of care through the Society’s Night Nursing service in 2016, while 600 journeys were facilitated for 47 patients from Meath who used the Volunteer Driver Service last year.
The Service currently operates in 21 hospitals around the country and transports patients to and from their chemotherapy treatment.

Grants totalling €13,850 were provided to 18 families in Meath through the Society’s Financial Support Programme which supports parents of children who are undergoing cancer treatment and experiencing financial hardship.
Money raised also funds innovative cancer research projects, with €20m invested into lifesaving research since 2010. This investment has supported more than 150 cancer researchers to work on a diverse range of individual or collaborative projects that will ultimately lead to better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer.
The survival rates for cancer are rising thanks to ongoing investment into cancer research, which is improving how cancer is detected and treated. Six out of ten people are now surviving cancer compared to four out of ten 20 years ago.

 

 

 

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR DAFFODIL DAY THIS FRIDAY