I have lived in Australia for the last 33 years. In November 2009, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer with bone metastases and given a very short time to live. I immediately made plans to return to Malta to die in the fold of my family.

There is no need for me to state that suffering from prostate cancer with bone metastases is very painful. It was in one of these painful sessions that a friend of mine suggested to me to contact Hospice Malta, who he said offered voluntary help to people like me. I contacted Hospice Malta and since that day I just cannot stop appreciating all the work that they do.

Even though I was new to them they went to extraordinary measures to try and help me and alleviate my pains as much as they could. They phoned me everyday to see how I was coping. I immediately felt that these people really meant what they were doing and deserved to be helped to the utmost in their mission. I decided very strongly to help them as much as I could.

That evening I went out to the Rokna Hotel and Restaurant where I joined my friends Victor and Anton Camilleri, the owners of ir-Rokna. During the course of the conversation I mentioned my feelings regarding Hospice Malta and my desire to help them in their cause as much as I could. I explained to Victor and Anton that I was looking for some sort of a business company to join me in sponsoring the organisation. It did not take any time at all for both Victor and Anton to join me in my cause and we agreed to form a team to support Hospice Malta.

We contacted Hospice Malta who drew up a list of items they were in need of and a special delivery of these items was made.

It is such a good feeling for both Ir-Rokna Hotel and Restaurant and myself to have been able to help in such a good cause − alleviating severe pain to people on palliative care with cancer.

My wish now is that other companies will follow this example and further support Hospice Malta. We are not after big sums of money or huge amounts of special equipment to be delivered, we would merely like to have a flow of companies to keep on supporting such a good cause, even with the smallest of items.

Please contact Hospice Malta on 2144 0085 or [email protected] (www.hospicemalta.org) and ensure that you too can share and help others.

Silvio Farrugia