Isha Sesay
BACK in 2011, a Mallorca resident was given the devastating news that they had cancer.
With a desire to speak to someone who truly understood, a plea was posted on the AngloInfo website for fellow sufferers to get in touch.
Krista Hyer, a qualified counsellor who had nursed her sister through the illness, saw the message asking if there was ‘any English-speaking support group for cancer patients in Mallorca?’ and by fate, replied.
Krista wasn’t sure if such a group existed, but she decided that if there wasn’t one, she would be the one to start and Cancer Support Mallorca was born.
“There just didn’t seem to be any cancer counsellors on the island and I knew something had to be done,” Krista told the Olive Press.
In just one year, once isolated patients were supported by a 24-hour helpline and regular meetings were created with buddies joining the group to hold the hands, quite literally, of those recently diagnosed.
The range of support provided by the now registered charity has grown exponentially with Krista herself helping families to navigate through the bureaucracy of Spanish hospitals, and as a qualified counsellor, offering her own services for free.
As well as being handed the Citizen’s Award by Calvia Council in 2013, Krista was awarded a prestigious British Empire Medal for services to British Nationals Overseas in the New Year Honours List in 2020.
Krista spoke of the ‘great honour and privilege’ to receive the award and in her true altruistic self, thanked all those that had volunteered and donated ‘as without them, Cancer Support Mallorca would not exist’.
To make a donation to Cancer Support Mallorca please visit their website.
