Daffodil Day more important than ever. Nuala Carey urges public to support cancer patients

RTE Weather and National Lottery presenter Nuala Carey has appealed to the public to shower Daffodil Day with donations, in the wake of her father’s death from cancer in November.

Nuala helped the Irish Cancer Society launch its 32nd Daffodil Day at an event in Dublin, where the charity revealed it needs to raise €4 million this Daffodil Day to meet ever-increasing demands for support. Daffodil Day 2019, proudly supported by Boots Ireland, takes place on Friday, 22 March. Members of the public are urged get involved by volunteering to help fundraise and donating what they can on the day.

Nuala’s father Maurice died following a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

“When dad was first diagnosed we didn’t really know that the prognosis was so bad,” Nuala said. “We were hopeful he could overcome it but sadly that wasn’t to be. As a family, we made his last days as special as we could and I am grateful for the time we had together. But now I want to fight back and raise vital funds to help stop other families losing loved ones to this awful disease.

“Pancreatic cancer currently has the lowest survival rate for all major cancers, with just one in ten people alive five years after diagnosis. We can, and must, change this. But it will require much more investment in cancer research and services. That’s why I am appealing to everyone to get involved and help make Daffodil Day 2019 bigger than ever.

“Your donations will also fund vital supports for patients and their families, so no-one has to go through cancer alone,” she added.

Averil Power, Chief Executive of the Irish Cancer Society, said: “Sadly we know many more Dads like Maurice will hear the dreadful words – “you have cancer” this year. Every three minutes someone receives a cancer diagnosis. We are determined to be there for everyone who needs us. But with the number of people getting cancer at a record high, we can’t do that without public support.

“Last year our nurses, staff and volunteers reached thousands of patients affected by cancer, but we didn’t reach everyone in need. We don’t just want to provide an excellent service to some cancer patients. We want to provide it to ALL cancer patients. As 98% of our funding comes from the public, we simply can’t do that without more donations."

Boots Ireland has been in partnership with the Society since 2012, with the aim of the partnership to increase awareness, promote prevention and support people living with cancer across Ireland. The pharmacy chain has raised €1.4m for the Society and is sponsoring Daffodil Day for the second year in a row.

Bernadette Lavery, MD, Boots Ireland said: “Colleagues across our 87 stores are ready to join with our local communities again this Daffodil Day. Not a week goes by where our staff don’t come face to face with the impact of cancer on our customers and patients. We are there to extend care and advice instore through our Boots Irish Cancer Society Information Pharmacists and Cancer Beauty Advisors, and by sponsoring Daffodil Day we will play our part in ensuring cancer patients and their families are fully supported.”

The Daffodil Day launch was attended by Minister for Health Simon Harris, hundreds of Daffodil Day volunteers, cancer survivors and representatives from Boots stores around the country.