For 26-year-old Frank Dooner, things seemed hopeless. So many members of his family and friends were battling cancer and Frank felt there was nothing he could do. But he was determined to find a way to help in the face of their adversities, so three years ago, he joined the Dickie Dip. This is his way of fighting.
“My father Peter had just been diagnosed with stage four terminal Adenocarcinoma, the day before his birthday. He had lung cancer. And only a few months prior, my uncle Johnny had been diagnosed with chest cancer. Within close to 14 months, there were: two of my uncles, my father, two family friends, my father-in-law and my mother, all diagnosed with cancer.
“It was very overwhelming. It put me in a dark place. I felt completely lost… I had no power in any of these situations. There was nothing me as a 20 something year old could do. I wasn’t a doctor; I wasn’t a surgeon.
“We have this thought process that the only people who can help when cancer affects a family are counsellors, doctors, surgeons and oncologists. But normal people can help too.
“Doing the Dip, it’s an out of body experience. The feeling on that beach, the air is electrified. Nobody says anything, but there’s no words needed. We are all fighting a fight in one way or another, either family, friends or that person themself is fighting cancer. There’s just a great sense of camaraderie. There’s this sense of belonging.
“The second year I did it, I carried their names on my back. Especially Peter, my father and Johnny, my uncle, Phil and Sonny, the four men in my life who had then since passed. They were with me in that water. I’m not afraid to admit I shed tears, but they were happy tears.
“Both my father and my uncle Johnny were treated in the Mater. And both of them received the highest level of care and the highest level of comfort. In every aspect of the word, the staff upheld my father’s dignity until he left their care.
“One of the last things I could do together with my father was wheel him outside for some fresh air. All throughout his illness, he never once complained, and he never once asked for anything. But this was something that I could do for him, as his son and the Mater really helped me have those moments with him.
“The nurses, doctors, porters… every time they brought me a wheelchair, to them, they were just doing their job. But for me, it was one more time I got to take my father outside.
“I thought I was doing the Dickie Dip to help everyone else. I didn’t realise how much it would help me.
“Sure, there’s a laugh and a joke about it, absolutely, but until you do it, you will never realise the sheer, raw emotion that’s involved. It’s a brilliant emotion. It’s the pride of being able to pass on those ‘one mores’ to other people. It’s the pride of knowing that these people would be proud seeing the difference that everyone who does the Dickie Dip makes. It’s carrying on their legacy. It’s keeping them alive.
“Doing the Dip might give someone one more day with their father, one more week, one more wheelchair ride outside.
“For myself and many others, we no longer have the ‘one mores’ with our family members or friends that have passed. It’s a joy to be able to give that to other people.
“I urge anyone and everyone, give it a go. If you do one thing to support the Mater or remember loved ones, I recommend it be the Dip. It is truly a life changing experience.”
Frank, Co Meath
You can join Frank this 8th of November for the 2025 Dickie Dip and support men’s cancer care. Sign up today to experience the life-changing skinny-dip fundraiser all for an important cause.