The Irish Cancer Society and creative agency Folk Wunderman Thompson have launched their first campaign together which draws awareness to the fact that despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, cancer is Still Here and so is the Irish Cancer Society. The campaign provides a poignant, emotive and stark reminder of the devastating effects cancer has on the lives of patients, survivors and families and yet, there is a positive ray of light shining through from the unwavering support of friends, family and the Irish Cancer Society while the rest of the world stood still for the last 12 months.

Still Here features real-life cancer patients and survivors at different stages on their cancer journeys including cervical cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan and Saoirse Ruane, who appeared on the Late Late Toy Show in 2020 to share her story. The new campaign launches today, March 1st and will be live across TV and social media. 

Speaking on the campaign, Enda Kelly managing director and head of strategy at Folk said: ‘Our brief for this campaign was clear - while we’ve all been focussing our efforts on beating Covid-19, there’s a forgotten C that hasn’t gone away. 25 people every single day die from cancer in this country. Every week over 800 people hear the words, ‘you’ve got cancer’. So with this campaign we wanted to document the real-life side of a cancer journey – it’s not just about the stats and figures, these are the real people and real families  who have been battling on over the last 12 months and will continue to do so with the support of the Irish Cancer Society.

Adding to this, Conor King, Acting CEO Irish Cancer Society added: ‘The effects of the pandemic have left every inch of our health service under immense pressure but cancer knows no boundaries, is unaffected by pandemics and remains a constant presence in our communities. We’ve spent the last 12 months encouraging anyone with symptoms to contact their doctor but figures show that one in four didn’t attend a GP or hospital appointments from March to June – this is a direct result of the pandemic. We want this campaign to draw the public’s attention to the fact that cancer hasn’t gone away and neither have we’.