A respite centre in Mullingar addresses the psycho-social problems linked to cancer, writes Theresa Judge
Helping people to cope with the shock of being diagnosed with cancer and the fear that usually follows is the basis of the work carried out at the Lakelands Area Retreat and Cancer Centre (LARCC) in Co Westmeath.
The centre exists because of the extraordinary determination and spirit of Tipperary woman Ita Bourke, who in the final months of her life put all her energies into providing a respite centre for others.
A senior manager with a large company, Bourke was able to attend a residential cancer centre in England after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. After spending a week there, she was determined to set up a similar centre in Ireland which would be accessible to all.
Today, LARCC is providing the services in exactly the way she wanted: it is there for people regardless of their ability to pay. Nurse manager and psychotherapist Nikki Molloy was asked by Bourke to run the centre and they became close friends. "This is her legacy, she put a huge amount of her own money into it and she begged and borrowed to get the money to open it," says Molloy.
The centre's aim is to address the psycho-social problems associated with cancer.
"What we provide is a safe place for people to talk and we give people coping strategies to help with the stress involved.
"We provide a vehicle for people to talk about how cancer is affecting them, how angry they are, how it has changed their lives. There is a huge sense of loss and grief and people can literally be shutting themselves in a room, afraid to talk to family or friends because they don't want to upset them," she says.
Since it opened its doors in November 2002, people have come from as far away as Cork and Kerry to attend its residential courses. Bourke died four days before the centre was officially opened, but she lived to see the first course held in temporary premises and she picked the house that became the LARCC centre.
It is located in the village of Ballinalack about seven miles from Mullingar on the N4 towards Longford, chosen by Bourke because it is in the centre of the country and in a scenic area close to the shores of Lough Owel. This also led to the name, the Lakeland Area Retreat Cancer Centre.
LARCC provides a range of services. A five-day residential course is run each month and it is hoped that this will be increased to two per month.
On residential courses, individual and group counselling is offered and clients are also introduced to a range of complementary therapies including massage and reflexology. A staff member, who is a nurse, has been trained specifically in reflexology for cancer patients. Molloy says the complementary therapies can be very useful in helping people to relax, reduce stress and sleep better. She says they have also been found to actually reduce the pain experienced by people with cancer.
LARCC also provides a call-in service available free to people with a cancer diagnosis and their family or friends from Monday to Friday each week. There are also six-week programmes for people who can visit the centre on a weekly basis where one-to-one counselling and complementary therapies are offered. A cancer support group for people from the local area also operates from the centre.
Everybody who attends courses are guaranteed follow-up support and can return to the centre whenever they like. While the total cost of running the residential course is 460, people are only asked to pay 40. The centre's five bedrooms are all en-suite and a chef from a local restaurant prepares the food.
The staff are members of professional counselling bodies and are supervised by a clinical psychologist. Its board of directors include a representative of the Irish Cancer Society and an oncologist from St Luke's Hospital in Dublin.
In order for the centre to meet its aim of providing services regardless of people's ability to pay, it has to fundraise as much as possible as it receives no State assistance. All donations are welcome.
LARCC can be contacted on 044 71971 or Callsave 1850 719 719.