Breast cancer charity Sweet Louise cuts services due to funding shortfall

Elizabeth Nau, 39, who has terminal breast cancer says the financial support she has received from Sweet Louise has made a big difference. Photo / Sweet Louise

A charity supporting women with incurable breast cancer has been forced to pull some of its services due to a lack of funding.

Sweet Louise will not be able to offer help around the home, oncology massages and mastectomy wear as a result of some of its key fundraising activities being disrupted by Covid-19.

The charity, which currently assists 758 women with advanced breast cancer, will instead focus on looking after its frontline team who provide the personal, one-on-one care and support until it can get more money to resume the other services.

Sweet Louise chief executive Catrin Devonald said this had been one of the hardest years it had ever faced in terms of raising money to support women in need.

"We are devastated that a funding shortfall this year will leave us no option but to suspend some services."

Sweet Louise relies solely on donations from the public and those are considerably down this year.

The drop in funding comes as the demand for Sweet Louise's services has increase by 40 per cent in the past three years.

"Most families are severely financially impacted by a cancer diagnosis. Financial insecurity
can increase anxiety at what is already an incredibly difficult and stressful time. It is
disappointing to cut back on this area of our support for vulnerable families. We very much hope this will be short-term measure only."

Auckland woman Elizabeth Nau, who found out she had incurable stage 4 breast cancer during lockdown, said the financial support - one of the services that Sweet Louise has had to stop - she had received from Sweet Louise had helped her spend valuable time with her children.

"I have used financial support from Sweet Louise to take my kids on a day out, which we all really needed and it made my kids happy. Since I've had to give up work we can't afford to do things like that anymore. The support from Sweet Louise has made a huge difference and I am very grateful for their care," the 39-year-old said.

Sweet Louise was set up by Scott Perkins in 2005 after his wife Louise Perkins passed away in 2004 having lived with incurable breast cancer for 10 years.