Rock Rose House - Mayo Cancer Support - is celebrating 20 years of providing care and cancer services, free of charge, to the community of Mayo and will launch a series of events next Thursday, May 16, in Bridge St., Castlebar, at 6pm, to mark the occasion.
The service was created in 1999, operating from the Parish Centre in Castlebar, after nurses visiting cancer patients in their own homes noticed the stress the illness was putting on the sufferers of cancer and their family members.
In 2003 the Association moved into Rock Rose House in St Patricks Avenue, Castlebar, with the help of funding from local contributions and the Department of Health and was officially opened by the then President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.
Later, an outreach service was established in Ballina in the Family Resource Centre and this year an outreach service has been launched in Achill. Both outreach services are aimed at providing equity in accessing support services where factors such as transport, distance etc may cause limitations in people accessing Cancer Support Services in the Main Cancer Support Centre in Castlebar.
The name Rock Rose House derives from the rock rose flower which grows on offshore islands along the west coast, which is famous for surviving in difficult climates and is a symbol of 'survival through adversity'.
