Feb 04 - Gibraltar Cancer Charities Come Together For World Cancer Day
Cancer charities across Gibraltar have shown unity and solidarity in the fight against the illness today on World Cancer Day.
The event was marked outside the Piazza this morning, with paintings from children across various schools in Gibraltar showing support for the day with the slogan #WeCanICan.
Breast Cancer Support Gibraltar, Cancer Relief Gibraltar, Cancer Research UK Gib Branch, Prostate Cancer Support Group Gibraltar, RICC, Bloodwise and Pathway through Pain, together with the Gibraltar Health Authority lent support for today’s event.
Speaking to YGTV, Dr Cortes said it is absolutely wonderful to see so many charities, friends and colleagues working together to make lives better for cancer sufferers and their families and to help find solutions and treatments.
He added: “In Gibraltar the citizen has a crucial role to play in the health service, so working together with the charities and the health service is the only way forward – we are making great progress and we are hoping to make this an annual event.
“Cancer is something that I work with every day and it affects us all in so many different ways. The community lives with cancer and we all know people who have suffered, survived and who have not, but I think the community will be encouraged to see so many organisations working together to take this forward, so I think this is enriching for the community and proof of the way that Gibraltar gels together to make progress.”
The GHA’s Cancer Service Coordinator Isobel Ellul-Hammond said the GHA is promoting preventative measures such as changing their lifestyle and early detection to help patients fight the cancer.
Grainne McKenna, Cancer Relief Centre’s Nurse Manager, organised today’s event together with Giovi Vinales from Cancer Research UK’s Gibraltar branch after the charities aimed to work together for some time now.
She said: “I’m hoping that today shows that together we can actually do a lot more, and I hope that today the message gets across that there’s a lot of support in Gibraltar, and if you are going through cancer, you can utilise us more.
“Individually we all have our own specialities, but together we all work quite well as a team, so together we can make a bigger difference.
“For me, the big thing today is for the community to know they are not alone, that they have got us – the GHA and the support groups – so pick up the phone, even if you are worried, even if you haven’t been diagnosed, but pick up the phone or look us up, we are all here for you.”
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