Dungarvan’s Solas Cancer Support Centre is celebrating ten years of providing support to people affected by cancer across West Waterford.
The milestone was marked during a special Déise Today outside broadcast from Grattan Square in Dungarvan on Wednesday morning.
The programme formed part of WLR’s Waterford in Focus Sustainability Series and examined the social impact of local healthcare and support services, with a particular focus on the decade of work carried out by Solas in Dungarvan.
Around 150 people now access support through the Dungarvan service each year, with approximately 1,700 individual sessions delivered annually.
Those supports include counselling, acupuncture and complementary therapies.
Speaking to Damien Tiernan on Déise Today, Solas Manager Tracy McDaid explained that the service works with people at different stages of their experience with cancer.
Around half of its clients have received a cancer diagnosis themselves, while approximately a quarter are family members or carers. The remaining quarter are people who have been bereaved following the death of a loved one from cancer.
The service can also support people at different points in their journey, from those awaiting a diagnosis to people dealing with concerns about recurrence years later.
Client Services Manager Claire Shanahan said cancer can have an impact beyond the person diagnosed, with family members and carers also requiring support.
She described Solas as being centred around community and providing people with resources and support while facing cancer or bereavement.
Community Support
The Dungarvan service has developed with significant support from communities across West Waterford.
Tracy said around 100 people work behind the scenes across the wider Solas operation, including volunteers, therapists, counsellors, staff and trustees.
She said volunteers carry out a wide range of roles to ensure clients can continue to access services.
The special WLR broadcast also heard from fundraisers, local businesses, therapists, clients and volunteers about their involvement with the service.
Among those taking part were representatives from Haleon and Dungarvan and West Waterford Chamber, alongside people involved in art therapy, acupuncture, bereavement support and the Dungarvan choir.
Tracy said the response from Dungarvan and West Waterford has been central to the service’s development over the past decade, with fundraising beginning from the time Solas established its presence in the area.
The wider Solas Cancer Support Centre charity is also celebrating 25 years in 2026, while its Waterford City centre marks its 15th anniversary.
