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Frank O’Donnell (seated left) and Mary Fitzgerald (seated right) present the €1,000 winning prize from John Mitchels ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ to Teresa Walsh of the Oncology Unit at UHK. Also seated in John O’Halloran, John Mitchels Club Treasurer. At back; John Mitchels Club Chairman Denis Mannix, Sandra Murphy, David Leahy of John Mitchels, Michelle Doolan and John Mitchels PRO Theresa Deane. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE first John Mitchels ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ event provided over 700 people with some great entertainment over the Bank Holiday weekend, but apart from the funds raised for the club, there was also a charity aspect.
The eleven couples who took to the floor on Sunday, October 30, had all selected a charity to donate the €1,000 prize to if they won the event.
Well Frank O’Donnell and Mary Fitzgerald emerged victorious on the night and their chosen organisation was the Oncology Unit in University Hospital Kerry.
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On Monday, club members, along with Frank and Mary – who is Assistant Director of Nursing at the hospital – were at the Loher Ward to present the €1,000 cheque to the unit.
The Oncology Unit in University Hospital Kerry has been open since 2001 and is a satellite unit of Cork University Hospital . The unit delivers Chemotherapy to patients with a number of different cancer diagnosis.
The Oncology service in Kerry is evolving and is reflective of international trends with activity increasing yearly due to ageing population and the impact of improved treatments.
In 2015 alone there were over 6,700 patients seen and treated both in the Oncology Outpatients and the Oncology ( chemotherapy) day units.
Due to increasing demand for Oncology services in Kerry, they have outgrown the current facilities and are in the process of looking to upgrade the current facility in the hospital in order to provide a purpose built facility where patients can be treated with compassion, respect and dignity at all stages of the treatment process.
