When an unexpected cancer diagnosis happens, it can trigger a tidal wave of accumulating challenges and hardships, impacting professional, social, family, and even basic living aspects of the household of a cancer patient.
The Barzilai Foundation was formed in part to provide relief to people facing obstacles as formidable as these, and this motivation is what drove the launch of our Hardship Grant Program partnership with Cancer Relief Gibraltar in 2023.
The Hardship Grant Program was designed to remove temporary barriers that prevented individuals impacted by cancer from continuing with their daily lives, getting the medical care they needed, or rebuilding from the impact of a diagnosis.
The program’s initial batch of nine grants met a diverse set of needs, including:
Since 1983, Cancer Relief has supported cancer patients in Gibraltar, empowering them, their families, their friends, and carers to cope with the challenges cancer brings.
“Our organisation looks at the broader picture of cancer care and the full range of potential challenges a patient may face,” said Gráinne McKenna, CEO of Cancer Relief. “This support from the Barzilai Foundation has allowed us to widen our scope, and the response was very clear. Making people more aware that we could support them in some small way made noticeable and significant impact on their emotional and mental health wellbeing.”
Our recipients echoed this impact. “I am exceptionally grateful for this help,” one of them shared. “The relief I felt when they told me was very real.” Another recipient shared, “I didn’t realise how much stress it was causing me until they told me about the financial support. All that worry about how I was going to manage went away and I could breathe again.”
Partnering with Cancer Relief Gibraltar we've expanded care services that will give cancer patients a better chance to thrive during extended cancer treatment cycles.
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