Isabel Laucirica: Spanish Association Against Cancer gives Fuerteventura more than it receives and guarantees free care

“They give us more, they give us more.” Isabel Laucirica, president of the Fuerteventura branch of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, says the national organisation contributes more money to the island than it receives from it.

This support guarantees funding for free psychological care, physiotherapy and social work services for cancer patients and their families. So far in 2026, the organisation has assisted 287 people in Fuerteventura: 216 patients and 71 family members.

In an interview with La Voz de Fuerteventura, Laucirica said that joining the national organisation had overcome the financial difficulties that previously constrained the work of the association on the island. The provision of services “is now fully covered”, she stressed.

The president said the main aim is to ensure that anyone diagnosed with cancer can access the resources they need without additional costs and “without having to belong to the association”.

Free support for 287 people in Fuerteventura

So far in 2026, the Spanish Association Against Cancer has assisted 287 people in Fuerteventura: 216 cancer patients and 71 family members.

The organisation has four full-time employees who provide a wide range of support.

Psychological support is available from diagnosis, for patients as well as family members and friends — particularly important on an island where many people have no family. Support is also provided during bereavement.

The social worker arranges financial assistance, travel for treatment off the island, accommodation when needed, and access to orthopaedic equipment.

The association also has a collection of around a hundred wigs and provides cancer headscarves and other products for patients undergoing treatment.

Physiotherapy includes individual care, home visits for people with mobility difficulties, and exercise programmes tailored to the different stages of the disease.

The backing of the national organisation also gives people access to specialists in other provinces through remote consultations, as well as advice on work incapacity, sick leave and other needs arising from a diagnosis.

Half a million euros for research carried out in the Canary Islands

The organisation’s care services are complemented by its commitment to funding cancer research. According to figures provided, in 2025 the Spanish Association Against Cancer allocated a total of €500,000 to research from Las Palmas province, which comprises Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

Laucirica said that 20% of income from membership fees, individual donations, corporate contributions and fundraising activities goes directly to research.

This funding supports several scientific projects in the Canary Islands, as well as predoctoral and postdoctoral scholarships for researchers.

The importance of maintaining this funding is the focus of the travelling exhibition *Connecting Lives*, which can be seen at the Casa de la Cultura in Puerto del Rosario until 30 November.

The exhibition, which has toured various parts of Fuerteventura, aims to raise awareness of the need to sustain research in order to develop new treatments and improve survival prospects, particularly for cancers that are more difficult to treat.

Laucirica said the Spanish Association Against Cancer aims to achieve an average survival rate of 70% by 2030 and urged the public to contribute, even with small donations. She explained that while survival rates for some cancers reach 95%, others have a much poorer prognosis, and the association wants to focus especially on them.

In closing, the president of the AECC’s island branch urged the public to donate funds to support research into this disease, which affects millions of people around the world.