Gaeil Farrar
Tribune Staff Writer
The Hough Memorial Cancer Society is taking a break from its annual bed races fundraiser this year.
Society vice-chair Jim Fraser says there doesn’t seem to be the same interest in the bed races as there has been in other years.
“It was hard to make the decision to postpone the races for this year but we felt the public may be losing interest in the event,” Fraser says. “We can always bring them back next year.”
The bed races, involving teams of five people racing souped-up hospital beds down a block of Oliver Street, have taken place on the Mother’s Day weekend in May for the past 20 years.
Last year, Fraser says, seven teams registered but only one team showed up for the races.
He says they cobbled together some fun races and races for the kids, but given the turnout, they had to think seriously about whether to put on the races this year.
Meanwhile, he says the society is very pleased with other efforts community groups and businesses have initiated for the society, whose only purpose is to purchase cancer-detection equipment for Cariboo Memorial Hospital.
The latest fundraising event for the society will be a folk concert this Saturday evening at the Limelight Theatre, which is being organized by Hub International Barton Insurance and features acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Craig Cardiff with the lakecity’s own singer-songwriter Oren Barter. Tickets are available at Barton’s and at About Face Photography.
“The concert is kind of a neat idea and we hope it is well attended,” Fraser says.
For the past three years he says the Parade of Choirs organized by Bill McDonald of the Cariboo Men’s Choir has raised $2,500 to $3,000 for the Hough Memorial Cancer Society.
“That is very exciting,” Fraser says.
Last year, he says M&M Meat Shops also supported the society by donating food and hosting a lunch- time barbecue, with help from society volunteers, and donating the proceeds to the society.
Hough Memorial also receives a fair amount donations in memoriam for which the society is able to issue receipts for tax deduction purposes. The ability to issue tax receipts is an important consideration in these days of economic hardship when people are trying extra hard to get the best value for every dollar they spend, Fraser says.
“Thank goodness we are coming out of the recession,” Fraser says.
Hough Memorial Cancer Society can’t just purchase a piece of equipment and consider the need met, because they need regular replacement.
For example, Fraser notes that a colonoscope costs about $36,000 and needs to be replaced every three years on average.
Most recently he says the society purchased a small telescope at a cost of $30,000 that surgeons use to detect pancreatic cancer.
He says the society confers with specialists at the hospital to determine which piece of equipment needs to be replaced next.
While equipment costs are high, Fraser says the good thing is that more and more people today are taking the advice of their doctors and having scopes and tests done at recommended ages.
“Our big theme has always been that early detection is your best chance for a cure,” Fraser says. “More people are aware of the importance of early detection now and this is what we are after.”
Fraser also reassures the public that he and his wife Ruth are on the road to recovery after being hospitalized following a motor vehicle accident Jan. 22 when the care they were riding in slipped on black ice and collided with another vehicle.
Jim says he suffered head injuries and Ruth suffered a cracked hip and injury to the vertebrates in her neck.
He says they have both been home from hospital for about three weeks now and have the best of home care. They try to walk a bit each day now and on Friday went up to Mount Timothy to watch their grandchildren ski. They were on their way for a day of skiing when the accident happened.
Jim says Ruth’s recent neck x-ray looks promising but she will be in a neck brace for a few weeks yet. Jim says his vision was most affected by the accident. He says he is able to see, but not able to read, so Ruth reads the paper for him.
