Cancer Care West was established as The Leukaemia Trust in 1993 by Professor Ernest Egan, the first Consultant Haematologist at University Hospital Galway. At that time the organisation's objective was to establish a charitable base for the development of Haematology and Medical Oncology services. The charity's title - the Leukaemia Trust - was taken from the main focus of disease that support was sought for, but with a broader brief than Leukaemia as its goal.
In the years that followed, the charity raised funds to support Haematology and Medical Oncology services at University Hospital Galway through a programme of patient support and new therapy development, research and education in Cancer and Leukaemia care.
It became apparent at an early stage that the name Leukaemia Trust was too restrictive within the overall brief adopted. At a national level in recent years, the need to develop regional cancer centres was recognised. Through the lobbying of the Leukaemia Trust and the work of many people, Galway has since become such a regional centre. It is in this context, and with our concerns that the title Leukaemia Trust conveyed too narrow a profile of interest for the Charity, that the Charity registered it's operating name Cancer Care West.
