Engines will reverberate through Calgary and the Foothills as several motorcycles make their way to Longview in support of those undergoing cancer treatment.
Dozens of bikers are expected to motor their way along a scenic ride from McMahon Stadium in Calgary to Longview in an effort to raise $25,000 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation in the Twin Cities Hotel’s Unit 57 Benefit Concert & Ride on June 24.
At the hotel, participants will chow down at a pig roast, watch local musicians perform a concert and bid on silent auction items ranging from helicopter rides to golf passes.
Twin Cities Hotel co-owner Chris Goss was inspired to host the fundraiser after his wife Lorry spent a year and a half receiving treatment at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre’s Unit 57 at Foothills Hospital. She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2015.
Goss said while cancer patients are well taken care of in the hospital, it’s when they become out-patients that many don’t get the support they need.
“When people get a bone-marrow transplant they end up having to stay in the city for three months and then become an out-patient,” she said. “This money is to help them out.”
Rural patients often have to stay in the city, said Goss, which can become expensive. Lorry stayed with a friend in Calgary.
Money raised this weekend will support the Patient Financial Assistance Program. According to its 2016 annual report, the program was accessed nearly 8,722 times in 2015 and provided $1 million in funding to patients.
Among those to benefit from the funding was Elizabeth Cloutier. The Okotoks single mom was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago.
The money assisted Cloutier with the cost of rent, medicine, food and her sister’s travel expenses to stay with her in hospital.
“I don’t know what would have happened without it,” she said. “I would have been screwed.”
Once diagnosed, Cloutier took a sick leave from her job as a nanny and had to find a new place to live.
Now she’s giving back as a participant in the Unit 57 Benefit Concert & Ride.
“I just want to help other people who are in the same position I was in,” she said. “I’m very grateful every day.”
Unit 57 ward physician Dr. Monica Modi sees the impact cancer has on people financially, whether they’re the household breadwinner, a single mom or retired.
“We see a lot of patients that are financially struggling,” she said. “This money is huge to supporting our patients. For some of them the commute is three or four hours to Calgary so they are staying in hotels, motels or hostels, paying for food and parking. That’s money coming out of their pockets.”
While working in hematology in Edmonton, Modi recalls a farmer who almost refused treatment because of the cost. She said he had been impacted financially by an outbreak of BSE among cattle.
His financial concerns cost him his life, she said.
“He refused to come in when he had a fever because he needed to work on his farm,” she said. “He died of sepsis.”
When Goss told Modi, one of Lorry’s doctors, about his fundraiser, she hopped on board.
In fact, she’s become a model for the event. Longview artist Matts Zoumer designed hoodies and shirts for the fundraiser featuring Black Diamond motorcycle driver Earl Klopp on a bike with Modi seated behind him. The hoodies are $70, long-sleeved shirts $35 and short-sleeved shirts $30.
Modi and four nurses from Unit 57 will hop on the back of bikes to take part in the fundraiser, she said.
Goss said more than 100 people have registered and that the food, prizes, entertainment and manpower required to host the fundraiser is donated so all proceeds can go to the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
Also taking place is an art walk hosted by the new Longview Arts and Culture Connection showcasing the work of several local artists at the galleries and community hall.
To make a donation, buy a $25 concert ticket or for more details about the Unit 57 Benefit Concert & Ride go to https://albertacancer.ca/unit57benefitconcertride2017
