Our 2022 Year in Review

Our biggest fundraiser of the year returned to the streets for the first time in two years or Daffodil Day. March 25th was the day we took back from cancer. You baked, held coffee mornings, shook buckets, walked miles and came together for those who needed it most. This year we raised nearly €4.6 million, which is just incredible! The funds you helped raised on Daffodil Day will go towards the development of life-changing cancer research as well as providing vital cancer support services to patients and their families, ensuring nobody has to go through cancer alone. The Irish Cancer Society typically receives only 3% of its funding from the Government, so we rely on the generosity of our supporters to fund vital cancer services, such as our Support Line, Night Nursing Service and our Volunteer Driver service.  On behalf of everyone who benefits from these services, thank you for your continued support. 

After years of campaigning, we were delighted to welcome the abolition of in-patient charges as part of September’s Government budget! These charges could cost up to €800 a year and this could be passed to debt collectors if patients were unable to pay on time. This abolition of charges is a huge relief for patients at a tough time, both financially and emotionally. We will continue to campaign on the measures that didn’t get funded in Budget 2023, including the reduction in the cost of car parking charges, and the entitlement of every cancer patient to a medical card. Read more about the real cost of cancer here.

‘Your Health Matters’ health check and awareness events popped up across the country throughout 2022. This year, the Roadshow has visited 17 different locations around the country. To date this year, over 16,000 people have learned about the importance of early detection, and over 1,300 people have received health checks in 2022. Find out about upcoming roadshow dates here.

In June, we launched the ‘Leave Our Leave’ campaign to highlight the plight of those who are diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy. Current legislation prevents women from deferring their maternity leave while they are being treated and recovering from cancer. We want legislative change so that no one has to face the injustice of forfeiting their maternity leave, which affects approximately 60 women every year. Read our Advocacy Champion Erica Tierney’s story here.

In October, we launched our first Big Pink Breakfast as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month alongside our Care For Your Pair awareness campaign. You brought your friends, families and workplaces together to host pink breakfasts across the country and were completely taken aback by the response! We cannot thank you enough for making it such a huge success.  We also had the talented baker Úna Leonard host an Instagram bake-along series on Sundays throughout the month – we highly recommend that you try her Mam’s Soda Bread Recipe, which you can find here.