Madam, – I am duty-bound to respond to the article by Sarah Carey (“Charities need to be asked rude questions”, Opinion, February 24th).
My response is warranted on many levels, primarily it is my view that the article is ill-informed, lazy and is extremely damaging to the Marie Keating Foundation and could, in fact, put lives at risk.
It is obvious that the journalist in question has no understanding of the work of the Marie Keating Foundation. The foundation provides a number of services, including mobile information units staffed by professional nurses. The units travel nationally and allow the public, in a safe environment, to inquire about cancer and concerns they may have.
The public can come on board the unit and have a talk in confidence about any health concerns. Last year alone 3,684 people were advised by our nurses as a result of their visit to the unit to attend their GP for further evaluation. This service has now been replicated in the UK by the largest cancer charity in Europe, Cancer Research UK. It has three similar units which were launched back in 2006. The Marie Keating Foundation is the only Irish charity providing such a service in this country.
In addition, the foundation provides support to people experiencing financial difficulty during their treatment; including a wig programme. Applications are handled by social workers and breast care nurses.
The Marie Keating Foundation, in consultation with, and the support of the Department of Education, has developed a cancer education programme (CAP), rolled out to senior cycle students educating them about cancer and promoting early detection.
The foundation has to date been involved in the refurbishment of four hospital oncology waiting rooms and not just St James’s as the journalist mentions.
I am of the opinion that this article is grossly imbalanced and unfair. There are 65 cancer charities in Ireland, so why us? To suggest that we “fail the value-for-money test” is entirely unsupported. I would, in fact, be very interested to know more about the grades required in order to pass such a test.
I am perplexed by the statement made by Ms Carey suggesting we should donate funds directly to the Irish Cancer Society. Does the statement that the Irish Cancer Society is an excellent charity infer that the Marie Keating Foundation is not an excellent charity? It is the case that the services of both the Marie Keating Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society are necessary and there is a high demand for the different yet complementary suite of services offered by both.
I am at a loss to understand how the foundation, through promoting early detection and doing so successfully, could be considered unnecessary.
This article has caused the foundation to seek advice in relation to how it corrects the damage done to its reputation, and more importantly how it ensures that the public understanding as to the importance of the services it provides is not distorted . – Yours, etc,