Hawke's Bay Foundation keeps wheels of Cancer Society bus to Palmerston North Hospital turning

Cancer Society shuttle driver John Davis has been transporting patients for 4 years between Hawke's Bay and Palmerston North. Photo / Supplied

The wheels of a Cancer Society shuttle to Palmerston North will keep on turning for the foreseeable future, fuelled by the support of the Hawke's Bay Foundation.

The foundation received applications from 78 charities for this year's round of funding and the 53 that were successful received their share of more than $177,000.

And as October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Cancer Society Hawke's Bay received a timely $4000 drop in the donation bucket from the foundation.

The funding will support a shuttle service that delivers Hawke's Bay cancer patients to chemotherapy and/or critical radiotherapy treatments in Palmerston North.

In the last financial year, the shuttle made 565 round trips, clocking 48,615km with the door-to-door service.

Cancer Society's fundraising and communications manager Sushmita Chakravarty said, "Even during lockdown level 4, we were getting new referrals for cancer patients as cancer carries on – it doesn't stop just because there is a pandemic so our driving service continued."

Cancer is a leading cause of death in Aotearoa, with diagnoses projected to increase by 50 per cent by 2035 to around 37,000 new cases a year.

"In the next few years the demand for the service will increase and we will be dependent on the support of our community and funders like Hawke's Bay Foundation for their all-important donations," Chakravarty said.

Other funding recipients include Wharariki Trust based in Flaxmere, Napier Family Centre's child and youth counselling programme, Barnardos' Napier children's contact service, Cranford Hospice's family support team, Te Mata Park Trust, CHB Parent's Centre and Hastings and Napier Riding for the Disabled.