Following their mother Marie’s death from breast cancer in 1998, the Keating family promised to try to provide the people of Ireland with vital information, which could help them to prevent cancer or detect it at its earliest stages. in 1998 The Marie Keating Foundation was set up to help men and women prevent cancer, detect it at earliest stages and supports them through cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.
Through its community information service, the Foundation’s nurses have talked to over 260,000 people about the causes and risk factors of cancer. The Foundation offers national awareness and education programmes covering the most common cancers affecting people in Ireland, including bowel, breast, lung, prostate and skin cancer
Through its Comfort Fund, the Marie Keating Foundation provides financial assistance to people who are receiving treatment for any kind of cancer and who find themselves in financial difficulty as a result. In 2018 alone, over 580 families received assistance from the Comfort Fund.
The Marie Keating Foundation supports cancer survivors through its Survive & Thrive programmes, which are run nationwide, free of charge, for men and women who have completed their cancer treatment. Over 870 cancer survivors have attended courses and seminars since its inception in 2014. The Marie Keating Foundation also supports those diagnosed with metastatic cancer through their Positive Living programme which aims to help both men and women who have metastatic cancer reach an improved quality of life by providing speciliased supports and connecting them with both experts in their local community and with other people affected by similar circumstances who they may be able to relate to on a peer-to-peer level.
“As a survivor of both breast cancer and skin cancer, it is a privilege to work with this hardworking and passionate team at the Marie Keating Foundation. It is amazing to see the difference that health promotion can make in people’s lives. I am proud to work for a Foundation that focuses on ‘making cancer less frightening by enlightening.