Everyone is welcome to come along to our shed on Saturday 28th September to help raise awareness for Blue September and the work they do.

Everyone is welcome to come along to our shed on Saturday 28th September to help raise awareness for Blue September and the work they do.
Bring a fiver and have a breakfast with us.
Blue September is an international campaign which aims to get men to 'face up to cancer'. In Ireland the campaign is focussed on raising awareness of and funds for prostate, testicular, lung and bowel cancer. The charities behind Blue September in Ireland are The Mercy Hospital Foundation, Cancer Care West and The Mater Foundation
check out http://www.blueseptember.ie/ for details of the good work they do.
Please share this event with anyone you think would like to come along .More details on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/166216350238670/
The Ball's in your court - Face up to Men's Cancer !!
Kicking off on September 1st, Irish Comedians Dermot Whelan and Bernard O’Shea are on board to highlight the challenge which is ‘DARE TO GO BLUE’. For the month of September, challenge yourself or others to take part in a variety of daring feats, activities and challenges to promote the Blue September message and to raise much needed funds for the Blue September charity coalition; The Mater Foundation Dublin, Mercy Hospital Cancer Appeal and Cancer Care West.
It’s a fact that more men develop cancer and die from the disease than women. Recent campaigns highlighting breast and cervical cancers have successfully educated women on the early cancer symptoms to look out for and this has contributed greatly to the rise in women’s cancer survival rates. Blue September sponsored by Vhi Healthcare aims to replicate this success and increase survival rates through an information and awareness programme in addition to fundraising for screening and treatment equipment. Over 3,000 men are diagnosed with cancer in Ireland each year. Early detection improves survival rates and Blue September aims to boost awareness among men of this disease.
Dr. Bernadette Carr, Medical Director, Vhi Healthcare said “Vhi Healthcare is proud to sponsor Blue September and to support the fantastic work done by the Mercy Hospital Cancer Appeal, The Mater Foundation and Cancer Care West. We believe whole-heartedly that men need to face up to cancer and become more aware of the steps they can take to lessen their risk of developing cancer and how they can play a bigger role in its early detection.
Last year, Vhi Healthcare paid out over €213 million on behalf of customers receiving treatment for Cancer. Almost 50% of those customers were men. Statistics provided by Vhi Healthcare on male cancer care activity in Ireland are as follows;
· In 2012 over €21.1 million was paid out by Vhi Healthcare to ensure that more than 2,200 men could receive urgent treatment for either prostate or testicular cancer.
· Prostate cancer is more prevalent than testicular cancer and accounted for 94% of male cancer claims, with testicular cancer making up the remainder of six per cent.
· Over 2,100 male Vhi Healthcare customers with prostate cancer were treated in 2012 – at a total cost of almost €20.6 million.
· In total Vhi Healthcare paid for almost 5,500 prostate cancer claims. Some 27 different types of high cost drug were used to treat prostate cancer in these men, with Vhi Healthcare paying nearly €600,000 on these drugs alone.
· At €270,000, the drug Taxotere (Docetaxel) accounted for more than 45% of Vhi Healthcare’s drug spend in the effective treatment of prostate cancer.
· Vhi Healthcare paid over €0.55 million in 2012 for the treatment of testicular cancer, on behalf of approximately 90 male customers.
First launched in New Zealand in 2008, Blue September has grown into an international fundraising and awareness campaign. This is its third year in Ireland and welcomes Vhi Healthcare as the campaign’s sponsor giving Blue September an exciting boost in its challenge of making Irish men face up to cancer.