Help Us to Support Families Affected by Cancer

Hi,

We want to keep you up dated on our work and the huge impact your donations are having on the people we support.

We have just finished our busy Easter workshops for children affected by Cancer.  Thanks to your support, 18 children attended the workshops and enjoyed activities such as art, dance and even ice cream making!

These workshops are a vital outlet for children who are affected by Cancer, either directly or through a close family member.  Our psychologist Claire faciliates the sessions, while also ensuring that everyone is supported in a way that suits their needs.

Without your support, we simply could not provide these programes.

We have also finished our first CLIMB Programme.  With eight children taking part, CLIMB stands for Children's Lives include Moments of Bravery.   

The CLIMB programme helps children that have a close significant adult who has been diagnosed with cancer. The programme educates children as part of an enjoyable, sharing, interactive experience and provides a time for the children
to come together to deal with their feelings.

On behalf of all of us at Purple House, but particularly on behalf of our clients, we thank you for your continued support.  We very much appreciate it.

Best wishes,

Conor O'Leary

Links:

• Purple House Cancer Support

Hi,

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Christmas and to thank you for your support to us this year.

We would also like to show you the impact you have made to the people and families we support.

Thanks to your donations, 1,272 people visited our Cancer Support Centre in Bray & Outreach Support Clinic in Dun Laoghaire so far this year, for support, counselling, classes & information.

Purple House is at the heart of the community and is funded almost entirely by you, our supporters & donors.
We could not provide our services without your continued support and we Thank You for this.

Byron speaks about the sense of fear and isolation that a Cancer diagnosis can bring to a family.

These feelings can be heightened at Christmas due to the emotion at this time of year.

Watch Byron's video here on how Purple House has helped him.

Michelle speaks about how Purple House has helped her through her Cancer experience.

'I was going along fine, got the five year “all clear” and all of a sudden the seriousness of the illness and what had happened to me hit home – I had been so well looked after with regular bloods tests, scans, specialist visits, etc., but then it was suddenly like someone had cut the strings of a puppet, I felt a bit wobbly and knew I needed some extra support in the aftermath of the illness.'

Read Michelle's story here

2016 has been a very busy year for our Cancer Support Centre and Outreach Community Support Services.

Both our Cancer Support Centre in Bray and our Outreach Support Clinic in Dun Laoghaire Co. Dublin were full of activities throughout the year.

Thanks to you, we were able to achieve the following this year:

• 1,272 People visited our Cancer Support Centre.

• 212 Counselling Sessions by our team of Counsellors.

• 2,590 Calls to and from our Telephone Support Line.

• 42 Children attended our Camps for children affected by Cancer.

• 243 Visits by Men affected by Cancer to our Garden Allotment Project.

• 245 Personal Development & Cancer Rehabilitation Class Sessions

• 77 Art Therapy Class Sessions & both adults & children.

• 83 Go For Life participants for the over 80's age group.

• 191 Health Awareness Class Sessions.

• 165 Relaxation Class Sessions.

• 197 Complimentary Therapy Sessions.

• 307 Hospital Transport Trips.

Thank you for helping us achieve this!

Links:

• Visit our website

'Cancer, it's a word that you hope you will never hear associated with yourself or your loved ones.  Although it’s always there, you hear about it daily, someone you know, knows someone who knows.  It's amazing the difference in meaning the word takes on when it’s uttered about someone close to you.  The string of clichéd emotional responses, shock, fear, anger, upset, hurt, the realisation of your lack of control. Nothing can quite prepare you for it.  Although you've heard the story several times before, this time, it’s unique. 

After the clichéd string of emotions fade, and the flurry of activity subsides, you are left with just the gravity of the situation. 

What you need most is support, sometimes those who you tend to lean on for support, find it most difficult, I suppose they don't have a lot of experience of dealing with it so how could they expect it not to be difficult.

This is where somewhere like Purple House comes in.  They offer support, experience, counselling, people who have experienced what you are going through, your fears, your hurt, your anger.  But most importantly what they offer is support and understanding, which is immeasurable. 

In a time that is dominated by difficulty, the knowledge that there is someone there to turn to.  I've watched the toll that Cancer takes on people close to me, several times in my life.  I feel better knowing that there is a Purple House out there that can make the situation a little less scary, a little less stressful, because the road to recovery is a series of little steps one after the other and Purple House is the kind of place that is happy to be with you every step of the way.'

The above piece was written by Byron and it shows the value he placed on the services provided by Purple House.

With thanks to your support, we can continue to support families like Byron's and our aim is to make their burden a little bit easier.

If we can help you or anyone you know, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Thank you for helping us to make a difference.

Links:

• Visit our website
• Read our Newsletter

Mark is a 13 year old boy who was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2013. Mark's Cancer diagnosis was a huge shock to his family and his parents recongised that as a family, they needed support to get through the journey ahead.

Thanks to your donations, we were able to support Mark through his Cancer Treatment.  Mark attends Purple House on a regular basis and this gives him time out for himself and a time away from his Cancer treatment.  While at Purple House, Mark receives Reflexology and also participates in our programmes for children affected by Cancer.

Today, Mark is doing great and he is coming to the end of his Cancer treatment.  A huge achievement for him.

Mark is just one of the many children that we support here at Purple House and your support allows us to support many more children like Mark.

We have recently introduced the CLIMB Programme for children affected by Cancer.

CLIMB is a programme for children aged 5-12 who are experiencing the impact of a parents cancer diagnosis and it stands for Children’s Lives Include Moments of Bravery.

CLIMB is run over six weeks. It’s an enjoyable, sharing, interactive experience and a time for the children to come together to deal with their feelings. Throughout the programme the children will develop an understanding of cancer and from this understanding the myths and fears that children can hold about cancer will be dispelled. The programme is creative, using drama, arts and play. They are also based on having fun together and meeting new friends.

Your continued support allows us to help so many families affected by Cancer in your community.

Thank You!

Hello,

Welcome to our first update of 2016.

We have just published our statistics for last year and the results show that more people are availing of our vital Cancer Support services, thanks to your generous support.

At the heart of our organisation is our walk in support service.  This is a service that allows anyone who has been affected by Cancer, to call in without an appointment and speak with one of our Support staff.

In 2015, we provided 2,060 Cancer Support Sessions through this service alone.  A Cancer diagnosis can turn a family's world upside down and we are here to help families rebuild their lives through our range of professional support services.

Our Counselling service provided 257 Counselling sessions during 2015 and we are fortunate here at Purple House to have a fantastic team of Counsellors who are available daily to meet anyone in need.

When a person is undergoing their Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy treatment in hospital, they can face difficulties in getting from their home to the hospital everyday for a period of 6 weeks or so.

To solve this problem, we have a Hospital Transport service run by a team of volunteers who are on call to drive people into their hospital appointments.

In 2015, our team of drivers provided 608 hospital transport trips, which ensured that people did not miss any of their Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy sessions.

Often times, a person with a serious illness such as Cancer, may feel alone while at home, perhaps when their partner is gone to work and the children are at school.  To tackle the issues of isolation, we offer a telephone support service and in 2015, we provided 2,521 telephone support calls to those in need.

'For the first time in 5 weeks, we could talk without crying, thanks to the team at Purple House' (A Purple House Client)

The above is only a small snapshot of the full range of services we provide to over 2,000 people per year throughout Leinster.

Have a read of our current newsletter to see more of our work.

Our work is only possible with your support and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support.

It is very much appreciated.

Until next time, THANK YOU!

Links:

• Purple House Newsletter