‘It meant normality could carry on at home’, says cancer patient who received free lifts to treatment from the Irish Cancer Society

The service allowed Robert Flanagan to undergo treatment with minimal disruption to his children’s lives

Ahead of Daffodil Day, the charity published figures that show it provided chemotherapy patients with 30,000 free lifts to treatment last year.

Robert Flanagan was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in January 2024, when he was 48 years old.

The father of three – who is originally from Dublin, but now living in Portlaoise – used the Transport Service to get to and from his treatment in Tallaght Hospital.

“When I received the news of my cancer diagnosis, everything became a blur,” Mr Flanagan said.

“My thoughts immediately turned to my wife, Caren, and our three children. I went from being on medication for piles to being told I have stage-four colorectal cancer that has spread to my liver.”

The family is a one-car household, meaning that balancing Mr Flanagan’s treatment with everyday life became challenging.

“When I was first diagnosed, our children were 13, 11 and five. We wanted to try keep things as normal for them as we could,” he said.

“Suddenly something as simple as the school run was clashing with me needing to get to my treatment in Tallaght. That’s where the Irish Cancer Society’s Transport Service was a lifeline for us.

“Those free lifts to hospital meant, among the chaos of my cancer diagnosis and treatment, that a little bit of normality could carry on at home.

“I’m forever grateful for those lifts and I’m asking people to give what they can this Daffodil Day on Friday, March 20, because the Transport Service that the Irish Cancer Society provides is fuelled by your donations and generosity.

“They can’t be there for families like mine without your vital support.”

Last year, the charity engaged in more than 26,000 support line and Daffodil Centre conversations with people affected by cancer. The Daffodil Centres provide walk-in cancer information, advice and support.

The society also offered 14,300 free counselling sessions, as well as close to 6,000 free nights of night nursing for those at end of life.

The society’s chief executive, Nikki Gallagher, said the charity aims to raise over €6m on Daffodil Day.

“The more we raise, the more we can be there for patients and their families when they need us the most,” she said.