€500K expansion for Cuan centre

There's a table at the heart of the kitchen in the Cuan Cancer Support Centre, with volunteers, staff and service-users sitting around it.

While it's called a 'drop-in service', it's really just a homely space where people can meet. Sure enough, as soon as the Celt enters the centre, a volunteer jumps to the kettle, which is already boiled, and a cup of tea is presented.

In another room, children are drawing, painting and playing while parents receive complimentary therapies. It's Friday morning, and the centre is busy, which is why they are set to extend their premises and treble the capacity of services.

Chairperson Kevin Reilly was “taken aback” after witnessing the level of support for their committee's mammoth fundraising efforts last year, the “Strictly adventure”, which brought in almost €290,000.

“It was well beyond what we had anticipated. That event demonstrated the goodwill that's out there towards Cuan. From a board perspective it gave us the motivation that people were behind us to take on a project of this ambition,” Kevin says.

In addition, multiple fundraisers take place for Cuan per year, who “a lot of the time” are by service users or families who have received support from the cancer support group.

“People want to give back, we have been the beneficiary of multiple fundraisers, in 2024 we averaged at one per week,” reveals Kevin who went through his own cancer journey back in 2013.

“You can have all the ideas but, when you can see that people are backing you and people want this service, in my opinion it motivated the board to take on this venture.”

Their strategic plan revealed the centre was “unlikely” to cope with the demand for services within the existing infrastructure, and so they set about planning the new build.

“We will need a building of this scale to meet future demand,” Kevin forecasts.

DEMAND

They currently have over 2,000 service users on their database, with 656 people using their services last year. They delivered 770 counselling sessions, 2,000 complimentary therapies, and 433 sessions for children in 2025 alone.

“For a small space we have done quite well but it is a bit messy,” centre manager Maria Brady admits.

She says there was a waiting list of five to six weeks for parts of last year, which is “not what we want at all”.

“The aim of this is just to reduce all waiting lists, make sure people get what they need when they need it.”

€500K BUILD

Plans for the centre will see it double in size to 360 square metres, while this will allow the team to treble the services they are already providing.

They currently have one treatment room, one counselling room and three office spaces, however staff often leave their office to allow for counselling session. Such is the demand for the service.

“It is very tight at the minute and that is why there was the need for the extension, because the growth has been huge in the last number of years,” Maria explains.

If current plans are approved, three additional counselling rooms will be added to the centre with the same “cosy” atmosphere present in their existing facility. They will also have three new treatment rooms, a specialised lymphedema room, which will be used by their lymphedema specialist who is also trained in post-surgery bra fittings. Meanwhile, Cuan will also have a multi-purpose room which will allow them to host events and group activities such as wellness and exercise classes.

The garage behind the centre was refurbished last year for use as a children's space, which is used for play and art therapy. The area is used for children whose parents are going through cancer treatment; however, the space has been used for children going through cancer in the past. The new plans include a dedicated area for kids.

The build is currently projected to cost €500,000, and the board are exploring grant opportunities and other streams of funding to bridge the gap. Subject to planning, they are hoping to break ground early next year.

They expect the project will take around six months. Cavan County Council is due to decide on planning permission for the project on or before August 24.

“In line with this, we still have the keep the services going,” Maria explains.

While works are being carried out, the centre manager hopes to find a temporary building, where they can provide all of their services in one place.

While all treatments and therapies are free to users, the centre is operated using grant funding, fundraising and donations from the public.

The centre is home to 15 members of staff between counsellors and therapists who provide services such as reflexology, massages, acupuncture, life and financial coaching, cancer and exercise rehabilitation.

However, no matter what treatment people come in to receive, each of them know the warmth in a cup of tea at the kitchen table.

“Some people just call in for a cup of tea, sometimes people who have been bereaved so they really find comfort in coming in and just having a chat,” Maria says.

Cuan also places a “huge emphasis” on the whole family, not just the person going through the diagnosis.

“There's good reason for that because the person who is going through the diagnosis is caught up with their treatment and their appointments and their own well-being. Sometimes it is difficult to see what is happening around you... That's where Cuan comes in providing the whole holistic family approach,” Kevin says.