Cancer fundraiser direct to the point
FU Cancer. Lethbridge residents are invited to come out in support of what has become an annual fundraising event intended to raise money for cancer research and support programs.
Fuck Cancer Lethbridge is being held at Studio Nightclub beginning tonight at 9.
Organizer Riley Miller said the event has raised around $36,000 in the past four years. He is hoping to push that total past $40,000 after Saturday.
Miller is a survivor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer that attacks the lymphatic system (part of the body’s immune system).
“This year marks my sixth year out of treatment,” he said.
In the summer of 2012, Miller discovered a lump in his neck, but due to him relocating from Edmonton to Lethbridge and transitioning from work to school, he did not receive a diagnosis until October.
“I already knew, kind of,” he said. “It was just about having someone sign off on it so I could go into treatment.”
He went back to Edmonton for four months of chemotherapy and then, after recovering for a month, another month of radiation.
He said it is important for the community to come together to help provide a support network for those who are going through their struggles with cancer.
But the event also allows people who have had personal experiences with cancer either with their own battle with the illness, or through a friend or loved one, to come together and show support.
“We can celebrate not only the fundraiser, but the energy and optimism that goes into rooting for people in their fight,” he said.
Riley said he understands the phrase “Fuck Cancer” may seem vulgar to some, but as a rallying cry, it pales in comparison to the disease itself.
“There are a lot of words people use to describe something as tough as cancer,” he said, noting the phrase originated from a need for the first organizers to say what was on people’s minds.
Tickets for Fuck Cancer Lethbridge are the $20 T-shirts required for admittance. They can be purchased at the door. The shirts are colour-coded to represent different forms of cancer: teal for ovarian; purple for pancreatic; lime for lymphoma; orange for leukemia; and pink for breast cancer.
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