The impact of your support
Thanks to your support, more people are surviving cancer than ever before.
Read on to learn about how we are making a difference in the future of cancer care in Ireland.
Over the course of 2022, a total of €19.8 million was raised through donations, fundraising campaigns and legacies.
Thanks to the support of the Irish public, we were able to be there for people affected by cancer across Ireland through our free information, advice and support services.
Did you know? The Irish Cancer Society typically receives only 5% of its income from the Government so it is thanks to our amazing donors, fundraisers and volunteers that we are able to provide services and support that make sure that nobody in Ireland has to face cancer alone.
Free care, advice and support for cancer patients and their loved ones
For cancer patients and their families, a cancer diagnosis can be devastating. It can be very hard making sense of a diagnosis and navigating the healthcare system during treatment.
Irish Cancer Society cancer nurses work every day to provide the very best care, advice and support to cancer patients and their loved ones, making sure they have the most up to date information to make the right decisions about treatment and have the best possible outcomes.
How do we do this?
The Society’s Cancer Nurses are available to talk to anyone concerned about cancer on the Cancer Support line, 1800 200 700.
In 2022, our nurses answered 8,000 Freephone Support Line calls and emails from people with questions or concerns about cancer. Read more about our Support Line.
This support is also available face to face through our 13 Daffodil Centres, located in hospitals across Ireland.
In 2022, Daffodil Centre nurses had over 13,000 supportive conversations regarding questions and concerns about cancer. Find your local Daffodil Centre.
“It is a place where you feel safe to rant and rave and not be judged as you come to cope and accept what is happening. It’s a place where you can debrief, you are listened to, and guidance is shown to you. It’s where staff see you as you, not someone with 'cancer'. To be able to drop in was amazing. The staff were always friendly and never rushed me. I would be lost without it.”
In 2022, Irish Cancer Society Night Nurses provided 6,600 nights of nursing care to 2,050 cancer patients at the end of their lives, in the comfort of their own homes, surrounded by their loved ones.
This service is unique in Ireland and allows patients to spend their precious remaining hours at home with loved ones instead of in a hospice or hospital. Read more about Night Nursing.
Your support funds free counselling sessions delivered through our network of affiliated cancer support centres in communities across Ireland.
In 2022, 16,200 free counselling sessions were provided to people across the country, helping them deal with a cancer diagnosis in their lives. Read more about counselling offered to people affected by cancer.
Providing free, up to date information about cancer through our website and publications
Through information on our website and in our cancer booklets, we let cancer patients, their families and the general public know the facts about individual cancers, from signs and symptoms to treatments and ways to help recovery.
1.3 million people visited www.cancer.ie in 2022, accessing free information about cancer, support in their communities, and how to cope with a diagnosis in their lives.
We are the biggest provider of cancer information in Ireland, producing booklets, leaflets and posters on cancer awareness, early detection, cancer types, treatments, how to cope with a cancer diagnosis and children and cancer. Our information is available free of charge and distributed to hospitals, GP’s, pharmacies and cancer support centres around Ireland. In addition to our suite of publications, all of our information is available on our website. https://www.cancer.ie/cancer-information-and-support
Finding better treatments and ways to stop cancer through research
Thanks to investing in cancer research, we are constantly finding new and better treatments. Because of this work, made possible by your support, more people are surviving cancer today than ever before.
In 2022, the Society invested €3.7 million in new cancer research, funding 139 cancer researchers across Ireland. The Irish Cancer Society is the largest voluntary funder of cancer research in Ireland. Learn more about the life-saving cancer research happening right now in Ireland thanks to your support.
"I am well, and my cancer is in remission. I quite literally owe my life to cancer research. Twenty years ago, women with HER2-positive disease had the poorest outcomes of all breast cancers. Today, thanks to Herceptin, they have one of the best."
In 2022, the Irish Cancer Society funded 139 cancer researchers, from laboratory researchers to research nurses to population scientists, working on projects that will ultimately lead to better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer.
Through cancer research funded by you, we are finding out more and more about how to diagnose, treat, and how to stop cancer before its starts. Read more about our cancer research.
Help with day to day planning during cancer treatment
For cancer patients and their loved ones, practical supports help make going through cancer a little bit easier. Whether it's help with bills, work and finances, or help getting to cancer treatment, the Irish Cancer Society is there every step of the way.
Help getting to and from life-saving cancer treatments
In 2022, Irish Cancer Society Volunteers Drivers provided 16,950 drives to and from cancer treatment using our Volunteer Driver Service.
The service makes sure patients can get their life-saving treatment if they don't have their own car or access to public transit to make the journey themselves. Learn more about our patient travel service.
For children and their families, and for young adults, cancer takes so much.
That's why we introduced special camps for children, adolescents, and young people affected by cancer and their families. Over 2022 we supported six camps, attended by 52 families and 35 young people.
In 2022, 228 families received financial aid to support parents of children undergoing cancer treatment and experiencing financial trouble. Learn more about our Children's Fund
“The financial support was massive really. It’s only when you’re in a situation like this that you realise that you need help. As in staying in hospital, my child needed all new pyjamas, luggage, towels, bed linen at home, thermometer and other essentials. I felt at ease to go shopping as the Irish Cancer Society had placed money in my account, I could afford that otherwise as I’m not working and there are five other children at home.”
Keeping cancer on the Government’s agenda and campaigning for patients
Through cancer advocacy, we work to improve the lives of people affected by cancer by informing and influencing Government policy and legislation. This way we make sure the voices of cancer patients and their loved ones are being heard.
Some of our current cancer advocacy issues include:
- Allocating €20 million to the National Cancer Strategy to support and develop cancer services.
- Abolishing VAT on sun cream to ensure that sun protection is more affordable.
- Removing car parking charges to remove this extra layer of expense on cancer patients when they are financially vulnerable.
- Guaranteeing women treated for cancer post-partum can postpone maternity leave during their treatment.
Progress in surviving cancer
1999
4 out of 10 people survived a cancer diagnosis.
2019
6 out of 10 people are surviving a cancer diagnosis.
Our future
10 out of 10 people will survive a cancer diagnosis.
Read more
Irish Cancer Society Annual Reports
For more information
Phone
01 231 0500
