‘The level of support we've had has just blown our minds’

The organisers of a fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society in Letterkenny have said they are “blown away with the support” they received.

Mike Toner and his sister Louise were speaking from Blake’s Bar, where Patrick Topping and Rebüke, two of the most in-demand names in dance music and of international standing, went back-to-back in front of a packed house - all for a great cause.

Mike, originally from Middle Road, Ballyraine in Letterkenny, is based in Melbourne, Australia, where he works as a music promoter and has also done incredible work for charity. He and Louise are also a cousin of international DJ and tech house heavyweight Reuben Keeney, aka Rebüke, who is also from Letterkenny.

So Mike and Reuben have combined their connections in the music industry to take the charitable work closer to home. You can donate to the charity event on the Irish Cancer Society website, Patrick Topping b2b Rebüke for Cancer Research.

Louise, a married 45-year-old mother-of-three who lives in Letterkenny, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, which has spread to her bones and spine.

“I'm a music touring agent and I look after both Patrick Topping and Reuben, aka Rebuke, in Australia,” Mike said on Saturday.

“So, we've done a lot of charity work out there together, but me and Reuben have always said that it'd be amazing to do something at home. So, I was coming home, it coincided with my 50th birthday and just everything lined up and we just thought, here's an opportunity to try and raise some money for the Irish Cancer Society. So, we've just been blown away with the support. We originally had a target of €10,000 and as of now, we're over €25,000.

Louise added: “From my point of view, I find even with this fundraiser taking place, because this was obviously Mike's idea and I was like, ‘yeah, yeah, sure, of course we'll do it.’ But what I've really noticed is that people are really generous. They really want to donate.

“Everyone's been touched by cancer. And I think for me, as a stage four cancer patient, like there's more cancer happening to young people. There's more aggressive cancer. So it's even just to give that bit of hope out there that stage four is actually a stage of treatment. You have treatment options. It's not terminal.

“And I think it's really important to get that message out that that's where cancer research is bringing the platform of cancer. Because you hear stage four, you just think like it's endgame, whereas in actual fact, there are a lot of treatment options. And that is literally down to the cancer research over the years.

“It's literally down to the amount of investment by different organisations. And that's the bit of momentum I really need to keep building on.

“I was diagnosed nine months ago. Nine months ago, I was on two crutches and a back brace. I was in a wheelchair. And I'm now at a stage where I got physio from palliative care, I'm on a targeted treatment, which is one tablet a day. I'm back at the gym and back at yoga. I'm literally back living my life. I'm back out dancing, ready for a good dance tonight.

“For anyone that's about to start the cancer journey, it's like a bomb goes off in your life. Cancer research has changed where that bomb goes and what it does and how we bring life back together as well.

“So I have no idea how long my tablet works for, but if my life is good and we can batter on, we're literally battering on. So I just want everyone to get that message that cancer's not the end game. There's so much that has been done. And we really, really need to keep the cancer research message going, keep that fundraising going and everyone keep digging deep.

“I’m living in active treatment. I hopefully get the next couple of years of just living in active treatment. And then if something changes, we move to plan B, plan C, plan D. It's not what it was back in the day. I keep saying cancer research, but that bit of scientific data, clinical data, that's really drilling into each.

“Every cancer's different. So that like that information, it's a game changer. And it's just such a leap of faith that we have to take in the science side of things as well.”

Mike said they received an amazing reaction from the people of Letterkenny and farther afield once the fundraiser was publicised.

“It's been so positive,” he said. “It's a beacon of hope. In that, as Louise said, everybody's been touched by cancer.

“The rates of cancer in Donegal are one in three. So everybody knows someone almost in their immediate family that's been affected by cancer. It's the level of support we've had has just blown our minds.

“A huge thanks to everybody that, you know, donated. Some people who couldn't make it were putting in massive donations. We had no idea the gig was going to be in such demand. And we had like 3,000 people looking for 250 tickets in the end. And thanks to Blake's for facilitating it all. Thanks to everyone who has given their support, donated, and who sent a positive message along the way.”