Breda’s Story

Cancer Care West – Donegal Support Centre

I am a service user of Cancer Care West since summer 2017 since going through my chemotherapy treatment and surgery. From January 2017 to August 2017 and before I had my radiation treatment, I realised I needed extra support to recover from my diagnoses of breast cancer. I attended a counsellor in the Cancer Care West’s support centre in Letterkenny and she was very good at helping me cope with everything going on. I had a good network of family and friend’s but sessions with the counsellor helped me deal with everything at my own pace. I also used the centre for manual lymphatic drainage. This is a great service as there are very few practitioners in Donegal. When I finished my cancer treatment, I took part in a mindfulness course. Here I met a lovely bunch of people and we still meet on an ongoing basis. We all have CCW’s support centre as our link. The Support centre also provides yoga and reflexology for users both of which I have availed of. But for me the centre means more than a place to go for treatments. It has a lovely feel to it and you just feel better after a visit and a cup of tea there. I was re diagnosed this year and the centre was my first stop off point to help me get my head around the news. Cancer is growing in our society and places like Cancer Care West’s centre is vital for any patient or survivors and their families.

Letterkenny and Co Donegal are blessed to have these services available which are free to all who use them and are funded by donations.