Marie Keating Foundation

October is breast cancer awareness month and we would like to start the month with Cynthia's story. Cynthia Cosme Cravo, 47, is a valued member of our Positive Living Community and a strong patient advocate who has shared her lived experience and learnings with us. "We should demystify cancer and finish with the cancer patient stereotype. Don’t pretend cancer is not out there, not talking about it or not getting informed about it, does not avoid it, It just makes it more unknown and fearful. Treat your body well and have health screening regularly. I really value simple things in my everyday life and I’m in a hurry because I want to do many things, many projects. If my life is shorter than I expected, I don’t want to waste time crying or lamenting, I want to live! Celebrate life, love family and friends and as a good Brazilian, party! For sure I fear that my body doesn’t respond positively to the medication anymore, but I don’t let this fear stop me from enjoying the good things of my life. When sadness hits, I look back and see many things I have done since my diagnosis then. I am living my best life! I’m feeling stronger both emotionally and physically. There’s always a voice in the back of my mind reminding me that things can change but I have learned to ignore it and focus on the present." Read Cynthia's powerful and inspiring story here: https://lnkd.in/e7b3tXYr #BreastCancer #MBC #breastcancerawareness #bcam

Now as Blue September Comes to a close it goodbye from Dave and his garden hose but you can take the message to Stand Up for Your Prostate with you from here on out.   Most importantly please talk to your Dr about a PSA test when you reach 45, a simple blood test that is the best way to detect prostate cancer in its earliest stages.   Remember Prostate cancer can be symptom free but do Pay Attention to Your Pee and go to your GP if you notice any unusual changes.   Supported by Astellas Pharma in association with MSD and Novartis Ireland . We thank you for your support. https://lnkd.in/etxdeqq6   #StandUp24 #PSA #PayAttentionToYourPee #StandUpForYourProstate

The BRCA gene and Men an article by our Assistant Director of Nursing Bernie Carter "A lot of people still think that this is a ‘Female or Woman’s’ gene, but the truth is that a BRCA1 or BRCA2 alteration/fault can be inherited from a person’s mother or father. If you carry a genetic alteration, each of your children (male or female), and each of your siblings (male or female) have a 50% (1 in 2) risk of inheriting the same alteration. Faulty BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are rare. Around 1 in every 400 people have a faulty BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. Men who have inherited a fault in their BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene also have a higher risk of developing certain types of cancers, including prostate, pancreatic, and even breast cancers." Read the full article here https://lnkd.in/e3EJAJ6c #BRCA #ProstateCancerAwareness

Throwback Thursday of thanks! The incredible 1,100km journey of the Great Dalata Cycle came to an end one week ago today and the incredible team has raised over €38,000 for their charity partners! A huge thank you to the amazing cyclists who completed the full route: Niall Macklin, Catriona Delaney, and Joe Kennedy and of course thanks to everyone who joined them along the way: Conor O'Toole, Shane Casserly, Tom Barrett, Martin Magee, Bogdan Munteanu, and Emily Meneses. Your passion, dedication, and energy have made a huge difference in the life-changing work of The Marie Keating Foundation, Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, and Leukaemia Care. We are so grateful for all you have done to support us and are as always blown away by the teams at the Dalata hotels who continue to go above and beyond in support of their charity partners Dalata Hotel Group #DalataDigsDeep #Greatdalatacycle2024

Thank you so much to Novartis Ireland for hosting our Director of Communications Cathy Gray, Community Nurse Anne Finn and patient ambassador John Wall last week to talk about our Stand Up for Your Prostate Campaign and discuss Prostate Cancer in Ireland and the lived experience from John. We are so grateful for this platform and he warm welcome received and engagement from all attending.

Today is #WorldGoDay2024 Throwing it back with this pic to last year when we took on the Dance for the #DipOrDance challenge to show our support! This year our nurses will be taking on the Dip at the Forty Foot Sept 21st to support this year’s World Gynecologic Oncology day. Swipe for info on events Nationally! The 6th World Gynecologic Oncology Day, patients and advocates around the globe will unite to raise awareness about all five gynecologic cancers (ovarian, cervical, uterine, vulval and vaginal) and their risk factors. World GO Day aims to educate people worldwide about the importance of sharing information in relation to prevention, screening, symptoms, early diagnosis and treatment. For more information go to: https://thisisgo.ie/ #GoForPrevention #GoforTesting #NoWomanLeftBehind

Bill Kelly has supported our Stand Up For your Prostate Campaign as an ambassador since 2022, taking a staring role in last years campaign. Here Bill shares his story. “When that MRI came back, it was clear I had prostate cancer. I was referred to what they call a rapid access public clinic here in University Hospital Waterford. An absolutely brilliant service as I was seen very quickly. The urologist arranged then for me to have a bone scan and targeted biopsy to establish it was cancer and if it had spread to other parts of my body. They confirmed it was aggressive cancer and Incurable. I was notified that it was outside the prostate and was in the lymphatic system, but it was confined to the abdominal area. So, the question then was, what treatment are you going to have? I suppose my reaction, which I don’t think is untypical of people, was let’s get this out of me as fast as possible. Just go in there and get rid of it. You know, in the scheme of things I’ve been both lucky and unlucky. I choose to take the view that I’ve been lucky. Five years later I’m still here, I’m still able to fight it, I’m able to reasonably deal with it and on bad days my dog Percy keeps me going and gets me out of the house. I’ve absolutely had support along the way. I’ve had therapy. I have an incredibly supportive family, friends, employer and colleagues from work and along the way I found a very supportive online Cancer community. I’m very, very glad that I reached out, that I went looking for that support, because it helps me enormously.” Read Bills story in full here: https://lnkd.in/d6Q4EyJ3 #ProstateCancer #StandUpForYourProstate #StandUp24 #PayAttentioToYourPee

Our 2023 Annual Report is now live on mariekeating.ie “The Marie Keating Foundation provides a range of awareness and support services on all type of common cancers to people nationally. 1 in 2 of us will get cancer at some point in our lives and cancer is now the leading cause of death in Ireland. Cancer has become more prevalent in Ireland over the last two decades, with more than 43,000 people diagnosed with cancer in Ireland annually. The incidence of cancer is expected to increase substantially by 2045 if current rates continue. That is why our mission ‘to make cancer less frightening by enlightening’ and our vision ‘to create a world free from the fear of cancer ‘is more important today. Early diagnosis is essential to improving cancer patient outcomes and survival rates. Evidence shows that by providing access to appropriate information and support, we can educate, advise, and eliminate the fear and lack of knowledge that may prevent people seeking support.” 2023 was a challenging yet ultimately positive year for the Marie Keating Foundation. We could not achieve all that we do without your support. Our partners, sponsors, fundraisers, donors and supporters helped us to support more people and their families facing a cancer diagnosis. Check out our 2023 report to learn more about all the work we have done thanks to your support. https://lnkd.in/dS3DKxNS #Governance #Transparency #AnnualReport

In 2021, Raymond bravely shared his story as a part of our Stand Up For Your Prostate campaign. Since then he has continued to support our campaigns and initiatives and raising awareness about Prostate Cancer nationally. Raymond is a family man, an accomplished international project manager, Keynote speaker and a published author. Raymond is someone who doesn’t shrink away from a challenge and is a self-proclaimed optimist, trying to find the good in all situations. This is a trait that would be tested when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in 2016, aged 53. Read more about Raymond's Story here https://lnkd.in/e6sMtrNF #StandUpForYourProstate #ProstateCancer #PayAttentionToYourPee #StandUp24

This is an important PSA about the PSA A PSA or prostate-specific antigen test is a simple blood test that monitors possible changes in your prostate which may need further investigations and follow up. By having regular PSA levels checked as instructed by your GP or Urologist, it can help to detect prostate problems or cancer in its earliest stages, even if you are experiencing no symptoms. It is important that everyone with a prostate gets their PSA checked once they reach the age of 50 or at 45 if they have a family history of prostate or breast cancer. #StandUpForYourProstate #PSA #ProstateCancer