SIX young people from the Northside have set up a foundation dedicated to the memory of their friend who died from cancer.
In February 2013, Jack Dalton passed away, aged just 19, after a battle with Ewings Sarcoma.
Portmarnock Fights Cancer comprises Orlagh Geoghegan, Aideen Walsh, Kate O’Hagan, Meggan Ward, Cameron Ward and Jack Comey.
Orlagh Geoghegan, a spokesperson for the group, told Northside People:
“Jack was diagnosed with his illness a little over a year before he died. We held our first fundraising event while he was alive and raised
?¬2,000.
“I was literally counting the money the following day when the news came through that he had passed.
“After Jack’s death, we took a year’s break from the group because we were all starting college and that was our main focus.
“However, we recently reactivated the group. Now our aim is to hold regular events and raise as much money as we can for cancer research in Jack’s memory.
?
Orlagh said the group’s members and Jack were all very close while growing up in the Portmarnock area.
“We went to the same primary school (St Helen’s National School) and secondary school (Portmarnock Community School),
? she said.
“Jack was the glue though that held us together. When he died, it was such a devastating loss for his family and friends.
?
The first big fundraising event of the year being organised by Portmarnock Fights Cancer will take place around the time of Jack’s second anniversary.
A
‘Basketballathon’, which involves 10 hours’ continuous basketball, will be held at the Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Club (PSLC) on Saturday, February 28. This event will be followed by a table quiz that evening.
Orlagh said the group have received great support in the community since it was reactivated.
“There are so many people behind us,
? she added.
Meanwhile, Jack’s sister, Sarah, described her late brother as
“one of a kind
?.
Our cancer story began in March 2011 when my Mam, Trish, was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer,
? she told Northside People.
“To say Jack was the most calm and collected of us all would be an understatement. He simply looked at her and said:
‘Mam you’ve got this and you will beat it’. During her treatment of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, he suddenly turned from my little brother into a man.
“He minded my Mam while I was at work, constantly trying to make her smile with his funny jokes.
“After some time complaining about a pain in his right leg, not uncommon for a 17-year-old lad who liked to play football with his friends, my Dad took him for an X-ray in November that year while my mam was undergoing her radiation treatment.
?
Sarah said that one little X-ray changed their lives all over again after it was discovered Jack had a tumour in his femur bone.
“We were floored,
? she said.
“He never really had more than a cold his whole life.
? It was confirmed that Jack had Ewings Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
Sarah recalled:
“During 15 months of fighting he was put through hell and back with 16 rounds of chemo, major surgery to remove his femur and knee bone and 30 rounds of radiation.
“By November 2012 we got his scans back and there was only one tumour in his pelvis. Things were looking good.
“While Jack had some very difficult days, his outlook on life was astounding. He always did his best to keep upbeat and would have the craic with his nurses and especially with his oncologist about the latest football result.
“Jack was a diehard Liverpool fan and his oncologist was a Manchester United fan.
?
Unfortunately in January 2013 after Jack had a PET scan, his family’s whole world fell apart.
“The cancer had exploded,
? said Sarah.
“It was now in his liver, lungs and bone marrow. The oncologist gave him three months to live.
“Devastated cannot even begin to describe how our little family was. He bravely fought for seven more weeks.
“On his 19th birthday, February 1, his nurses arrived into his hospital room with a cake and candles.
“Unfortunately it was the last birthday we would get to celebrate with him. On February 24, Jack passed away with all of his loving family around him.
?
Sarah said the fundraiser on February 28 will help to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society.
“They were so kind to us during our family’s troubles,
? she added.
“While Jack’s story didn’t end the way it should have, I’m so proud of the person he was: brave and courageous right till the end.
?
?¢ Portmarnock Fights Cancer would like to thank the PSLC for its support. For more information email portmarnockfightscancer@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/portmarnockfightscancer