Stephen Launches Marie Curie Cancer Walks

GAA star Stephen O’Neill kicks off launch of Marie Curie Cancer Care’s Walk Ten in Omagh
GAA star Stephen O’Neill has kicked off the launch of Marie Curie Cancer Care’s ‘Walk Ten’ event by donning their walking shoes and are encouraging people across Northern Ireland to sign up and take part in this year’s event.
The 10K walk is being held at the idyllic Ulster American Folk Park on 17th August and aims to raise as much money as possible to allow Marie Curie to continue to provide free nursing care to people with terminal illnesses in their homes and also at the Marie Curie Hospice, Belfast.
Whether taking part on your own, as a family or as part of a group of friends, the event is open to everyone across Northern Ireland. Beginning at 6pm, the walk will follow the world famous Irish emigrant trail as people journey from the thatched cottages of Ulster to the log cabins of the American Frontier.
Following the walk, there will be exciting activities throughout the evening including fireworks, live music and picnics to celebrate the work of Marie Curie nurses.
Registration is £10 per person (children go free) and everyone is encouraged to raise as much as possible to support Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Suzy McIlveen, Events Manager for Northern Ireland at Marie Curie Cancer Care, said: “Walk Ten is a wonderful occasion, giving people the chance to walk 10k in stunning surroundings, but also to recognise the dedication of Marie Curie Nurses. There’s a festival atmosphere at the end of the walk, making it a fun evening to spend with friends and family. Last year, Walk Ten participants helped raise over £400,000 for the charity, enabling Marie Curie Nurses to provide 20,000 hours of free care to people with terminal illnesses in their own homes and in the Marie Curie Hospice. We hope as many people as possible will sign up for this Walk Ten event in Omagh as well as our Belfast event taking place at Stormont Estate on 31st August to help even more terminally ill patients and their families.”
Commenting on his support for the Walk Ten events, GAA star Stephen O’Neill said: “I’d like to encourage everyone to sign up to the Walk Ten event at the Ulster American Folk Park to help Marie Curie continue to raise essential funds to provide free nursing services for people with terminal illnesses across Northern Ireland. Cancer touches all our lives so why not sign up to this great cause as well as enjoying a fun evening with family and friends.”
A Walk Ten event will also be taking place at Stormont Estate on Friday 31st August.
To register for your nearest Walk Ten or for more information, go to www.mariecurie.org.uk/walkten or call 08700 340 040.
Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of the UK’s largest charities. Employing more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, it provided care to more than 31,000 terminally ill patients in the community and in its nine hospices last year and is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.
Funding
Around 70 per cent of the charity’s income comes from the generous support of thousands of individuals, membership organisations and businesses, with the balance of our funds coming from the NHS.
Marie Curie Nurses
The charity is best known for its network of Marie Curie Nurses working in the community to provide end of life care, totally free for patients in their own homes.
Research
The charity provides core funding for three palliative care research facilities; the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit at University College London, the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute Liverpool and the Marie Curie Palliative Care Centre at the Wales Cancer Trials Unit (Cardiff University). The charity also supports palliative and end of life care research through its project grant funding streams, the Marie Curie Cancer Care Research Programme (administered by Cancer Research UK) and the Dimbleby Marie Curie Cancer Care Research Fund. It also funds seven fundamental scientific research groups which investigate the causes and treatments of cancer. This research was previously carried out at the Marie Curie Research Institute in Oxted, Surrey. The programmes are now located in universities around the country, and will receive funding from the charity until late 2012.
The right to die in place of choice
Research shows around 65 per cent of people would like to die at home if they had a terminal illness, with a sizeable minority opting for hospice care. However, more than 50 per cent of cancer deaths still occur in hospital, the place people say they would least like to be. Since 2004 Marie Curie Cancer Care has been campaigning for more patients to be able to make the choice to be cared for and die in their place of choice.