A father-of-two who was diagnosed with both cancer and Parkinson’s disease has told how hospice care saved his life.
  
Declan Moore, 67, was left thinking ‘is this the end?’ when he was referred to St Francis Hospice in Blanchardstown, Dublin, in 2024.
  
However, with the help of a multidisciplinary team in the outpatient and day service, he was able to return to his tech job in the HSE.

Mr Moore, from Cabra in Dublin, joined 2FM broadcaster Laura Fox and former news presenter Eileen Dunne at the Hospice on Wednesday as they asked the public to support Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice on September 24.
 
‘You immediately think you’re in an end-of-life situation and I was quite scared of that,’ he said. ‘But thankfully, my life has been prolonged, and during my second time there, they definitely saved my life.
  
‘If I didn’t get that treatment, I definitely wouldn’t be here today.’

Now retired, Mr Moore recently received further symptom management care at St Francis Hospice and is now back home with his family.
  
Data shows that of a total of 2,331 patients cared for there last year, 204 were discharged.

One of the country’s biggest fundraisers, the coffee morning has generated more than € 48.8 million for Hospice care in Ireland since 1992.

Mr Moore, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019 and Parkinson’s in 2024, also told how he regained the use of his voice following gruelling hospital chemotherapy sessions.
  
A speech and language therapist – whose position at St Francis’s is funded through fundraised income – saw him within two days, rather than the two-year wait he faced outside the hospice.

The team also organised pain management, confronted his hypertension, introduced psychological help and adapted his medication to stop drugs prescribed for both conditions negatively impacting his health.
  
During a recent 10-week admission to the in-patient unit, he was able to watch the World Cup finals in bed, alongside wife Eileen, his sons Oisín and Fergal and family dog, Ava.
  
‘I feel really good, even though I still have slight problems with my voice, and I have exercises to keep working on it,’ he said.
  
‘Hospices have such a calm approach to everything. I was treated so well, in all aspects of it, they allayed my fears that I wasn’t in an end-of-life situation, that I was in palliative care, which would give me a chance to extend my life.
  
‘There’s a sense of genuine warmth, love and affection.’
  
Mary Flanagan, Chairperson of Together for Hospice, The National Hospice Movement, said: ‘Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice, one of our longest and most-loved fundraisers, is now in its 34th year raising funds for Hospice in-patient and community services around Ireland.
  
‘No matter where you live, we are asking everyone to celebrate our countless coffee morning hosts, who give so selflessly of their time and energy in their local communities.
  
‘This support is invaluable and funds vital services and quality initiatives, greatly improving care for patients with life-limiting illness.’

You can register to host a coffee morning on Thursday, September 24, or on a date that suits you here, or call 0818 995 996.

If you cannot host or attend, you can donate here.