REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE MAYO CANCER SUPPORT ASSOCIATION
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE MAYO CANCER SUPPORT ASSOCIATION’S DROP-IN CENTRE
Dia dhíbh a chairde.
Thank you all for the warm welcome and for inviting me to come to Castlebar today to officially open this wonderful resource for people who have been touched in one way or another by cancer. Rock Rose House represents the culmination of a huge amount of effort and determination and sheer hard work by many, many people and I am very glad to be here to say thank you and well done for what you have done to make this day possible, to make this Centre possible.
Mayo Cancer Support Association has I know provided a range of important services and support to people in the area for more than four years now and you can be justifiably proud that through your energy and enthusiasm and tireless commitment to what you do, you found it possible to purchase Rock Rose House – named I believe, after a rose that grows on lovely Clare island off the Mayo coast and reputed never to die, truly encapsulating the positive nature of what you do here at the centre.
Cancer is something that regrettably touches many lives and yet through improved diagnosis and earlier interventions with improved and more widely available treatments it is not in the main the ogre it was once considered. It is an illness that strikes fear into hearts and often that fear is misplaced because of lack of knowledge and understanding of what is happening and what is set to happen. It is a time when sufferers and families need information, need reassurance, and thankfully there are those who step forward and provide counselling and support and advice to those who need it. The Mayo Cancer Support Association is part of this proud tradition providing an invaluable support service to patients in the Western Health Board area.
Why this centre is so important to the area is that it provides an outlet for people newly diagnosed with cancer and those receiving active treatment who may find it difficult to deal with the many issues and emotions associated with such a diagnosis. The centre provides a safe haven for patients to express their anxieties and concerns, striving to lessen the fear associated with a diagnosis of cancer and to help people conquer the feelings of isolation, loneliness, helplessness and loss of control over their lives. The Centre maintains close links with the oncology unit in Mayo General Hospital and people will no doubt find comfort in the knowledge that they can spend any length of time in the house and attend as often and for as long as they need.
The house is very ably staffed by Christine and Maura and a number of volunteers, selected and trained by the Irish Cancer Society, who will be coming on board shortly. I hear that it is also intended to provide a very welcome range of complementary therapies in the coming months.
On behalf of everyone who uses this centre, I would like to pay tribute to those who undertake this important work here and to thank you for the caring way you do it. In particular I commend and thank the volunteers who work here, those unsung heroes, who do so much to help cancer patients and their families with no thought of thanks or recognition or reward beyond accompanying someone in need on a difficult and frightening part of their life’s journey.
I am glad my own life’s journey brought me here today and I am privileged to have the task of declaring Rock Rose House officially open.
Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh arís as ucht an cuireadh a thug libh dom bheith anseo libh inniu. Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh agus guím gach rath air san am atá le teacht. Go raibh maith agaibh.