CUDECA, the cancer care charity founded by Joan Hunt O.B.E., has done some marvellous work over the years offering cost-free care to non-curable cancer patients within Málaga province, but they are struggling to keep their In-patient Unit open. Here is an official letter from the President and founder of CUDECA, Joan Hunt explaining the current situation.
To all Volunteers and Friends of Cudeca:
Following a presentation made at Cudeca Hospice Centre on 27th February, to inform our sponsors of the progress that we have made over the past 15 years, a great deal of publicity has been given to the announcement of our need for more funding to meet the high cost of our In-patient Unit.
The opening of our In-Patient Unit in 2005 with an availability of 10 beds greatly increased the annual cost of the high quality care offered by the specialist medical team of Cudeca. The income from our Hospice Charity shops, donations, fundraising events, etc. has not been sufficient to meet the extra costs of this unit. At the end of 2007 we are faced with a 600,000€ shortfall.
If this situation continues we feel we will have no alternative but to close the Unit. If this hard and unpalatable decision has to be taken, we want to assure you that it will in no way effect the care of patients in our Home Care Programme and in the Day Care Centre. These important care areas of Cudeca will continue.
We are investigating every possible means to avoid closing the In-Patient Unit. I have written a personal letter to the family of our patients asking for help. A small annual donation will make a great difference to our life expectancy – 1€ per week will equal 50€ a year, multiplied by 10 donors is 500€ or by 100 donors is 5,000€. It is the QUANTITY of regular donors that will make all the difference to the fate of our important and much needed In-Patient Unit.
We will keep you informed of our strategy for retaining the In-Patient Unit. In the meantime, once again, we thank everyone for your hard work and support. Together we have achieved so much and I feel confident that the community, and hopefully the private and public sectors, will make a warm response to our call for help to turn our finances around.
Joan Hunt, OBE
President & Founder