LARCC coffee morning to focus on Breast Cancer Awareness

The first coffee morning to be held at LARCC, the cancer support sanctuary at Multyfarnham, in some time takes place on Friday, October 10, (10am-1pm), and features guest speakers.

Tricia McGrath from Delvin is the breast care advisor at LARCC and she explained what will be happening. At 11am, Carol Scott, outreach co-ordinator with Breast Cancer Ireland, will give a demonstration on how to check your breasts. At 12 noon, Ballymore woman Louise Marlowe from the Colour Me Beautiful company will advise on how to look your best.

Tricia pointed out that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the proceeds from the coffee morning will go towards setting up a breast cancer support group at LARCC.

It is a number of years since LARCC held a coffee morning: “Covid put the tin hat on that and a lot of things,” Tricia said, but they are hoping to come back “with a bang” and are appealing to the public for scones, cupcakes, and prizes for their raffle. If you are interested in helping out, email Tricia at breastcare@cancersupport.ie or call the centre at 044 9371971.

LARCC is a cancer support centre for anyone diagnosed with cancer, and their families. “We offer counselling and complementary therapies such as reflexology, massage, Indian head massage, art, yoga, tai chi, and musical therapy through sound baths,” Tricia said. They also have a children’s play therapist and offer manual lymphatic drainage because some cancer patients get lymphatic edema, she said.

In addition, LARCC runs retreats where “people can come and stay for a few days and get looked after”, Tricia continued. They also offer “pampering days where people have lunch handed to them and get some TLC – they are minded for the day basically.”

“We have a Thrive and Survive programme going on at the moment. When people finish their treatment they can come to us to get ready for going back to normal life.”

They are setting up a Breast Cancer Support Group in early October and the proceeds from the coffee morning will go towards that. They are also starting an exercise programme “to get people back fit and healthy after being sick”, Tricia revealed.

The real emphasis this month is on breast care awareness. There are 3,700 new cases of breast cancer every year and, according to the Breast Cancer Ireland statistics, the ratio is one in seven women and one in 73 men, Tricia reported.

Information on what is being done at LARCC will be provided at the coffee morning which is intended to be “a good fun day, a positive day”, she stated.