Flin Flon, Creighton and surrounding areas showed big-time support for last year’s Relay for Life, as the cancer-fighting fundraiser surpassed expectations.
The 12-hour Canadian Cancer Society event brought in over $150,000 to research and raise awareness of cancer.
The relay, held at the field near Creighton Community School, was always meant to be held every two years, with the next event quickly approaching.
Preparation has now begun with a Canadian Cancer Society open house being held this evening at the Victoria Inn. Those interested in being involved with the relay are encouraged to attend.
“We really hope to see everyone there,” Colette Toews, Relay for Life coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society, said in a media release.
Flin Flon is one of nearly 500 communities across Canada expected to hold a Relay for Life next year.
“That means about 162,000 people on 16,500 teams raising money to lead research efforts and support programs and services that help local cancer patients,” Toews said in the release. “It is the single largest cancer fundraiser in Canada and it has the most impact in the fight against all kinds of cancer.”
Also helping to bolster the fight against cancer has been Flin Flon’s Andy Burbidge. He joined the Cancer Society in urging the Manitoba government to cover the cost of medications for cancer patients.
Last year, the province agreed to do just that, a vital step forward since the medications needed for cancer treatment can cost upwards of $65,000 a year.
A cancer survivor, Burbidge was one of many Manitobans traveling to Winnipeg to receive treatments.
“Because of people like Burbidge and other Relay For Life participants that stood with the Cancer Society, about 8,200 families in Manitoba – including 38 from the Flin Flon area – now have the cost of these drugs covered by the government,” read the media release. “This change saves Manitoba families fighting cancer more than $23 million every year.”
Since the Cancer Society put forward its agenda for change, the Manitoba government has announced more than $60 million in measures designed to reduce wait times, increase access to care, reduce the financial burden brought on by a cancer diagnosis and help prevent cancer by helping more Manitobans quit smoking.
