Cancer is on the rise worldwide and Bermuda is no exception, PALS president Ann Smith-Gordon told the Hamilton Lion's Club yesterday. The organisation which assists cancer patients received a record 139 referrals last year -- with 18 referrals in August alone.

"Here on our little island some 300 people are diagnosed with cancer annually,'' she said, adding that number does not include basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.

Ms Smith-Gordon told the service club that the five nurses employed by the charity made 7,287 visits to cancer patients last year -- a number which had increased by over a thousand.

"Cancer knows no boundaries,'' she said. "It does not matter who you are, how rich or poor you are, your sex, skin colour or age.'' But she expressed gratitude to the many donors which kept the organisation's budget of $600,000 a year in the black.

After a Government grant of $100,000, the organisation must raise the remainder through individual and group donations.

She also stressed that PALS (Patients' Assistance League & Service) was there for all cancer patients at all stages of the disease.

"There are people in Bermuda today who have refused our help, because in their minds, they think that we only care for the terminally ill and that if PALS enters their lives, it means that they are facing the terminal stages of the disease,'' she said.

This year the 21-year-old charity will begin construction on a purpose-built facility on Point Finger Road or, as Ms Smith-Gordon referred to it, "Doctors' Row''.

At the close of her speech, she was presented with a $1,500 donation raised through a Lion's Club Superbowl pool and a $100 anonymous donation.

The Lion's club will also be donating the proceeds of their current raffle to PALS.

The draw will be held on February 24 and prizes include a return trip for two to London, a $500 shopping spree and a 50cc motorbike. Tickets are $5.

HEALTH HTH