‘It saved our lives’: Cancer survivors reflect on fundraising achievements

For most couples, a date usually consists of going out to a restaurant, a movie or maybe a walk in the park.

But for 66-year-old Chris and 59-year-old Tina Lees from Arcola, a date consisted of them going to chemotherapy appointments together at Regina’s Allan Blair Cancer Centre.

“We were there every week, Chris was every two weeks, but it was like date Wednesday for us to go to chemotherapy,” Tina said. “It was very much like a second home. It’s an amazing place and a very, very important place.”

In 2019, Tina was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and reconstruction surgery months later.

Then in 2020, cancer was detected in her lymph nodes.

While Tina was receiving her treatments, the Lees were presented with another challenge.

“I was diagnosed with four different cancers all at the same time,” Chris said.

First it was prostate cancer, then colorectal. Chris then began chemotherapy treatments and radiation therapy.

“We just kept finding one after the other,” Tina said. “We didn’t know what we were getting into.”

Despite the new obstacles, neither Chris nor Tina let it deter them from their day-to-day lives.

“We’re farmers; we’re cattle ranchers. We still had cows to feed while we were going through chemotherapy,” Tina said. “We had family and neighbours that we could call on when we got in a bind but we never quit our daily life because you can’t still have to go to work.

“Cows don’t care if you are going through treatment and are exhausted, they need to be fed. It’s just what you have to do.”

Tina Lees receiving cancer treatment. (Facebook/Submitted)

By December 2020 both Tina and Chris had multiple surgeries and were receiving chemotherapy treatments at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre on the road to recovery.

Now the Lees find themselves in a position of supporting the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan through fundraising.

Just over two years after launching a $3-million community campaign to raise funds for two new 4D CT simulators — used to determine the exact location, shape and size of tumours so they can be treated — the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan is announcing the project’s completion.

One of the 4D CT simulators has been installed at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre and the other at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre.

The Lees wanted to make a difference for a facility that had done so much for their lives, so they raised $70,000 through a charity Hereford sale fundraiser at the 2021 Canadian Western Agribition.

“Basically it saved our lives. I mean, if you did nothing, you had two choices: You either go through the program or you’re going to pass away eventually,” Chris said. “There was never, ever a time when the nurses (or) the doctors didn’t say, ‘Hi, how are you today? What can we do to make your day better?’

“And you can’t tell me that their days were always perfect, happy and wonderful, but they certainly made you feel that way. They just made your life that much better so both of us are nearing retirement and we just wanted to give something back.”

It isn’t unusual to know someone whose life has been impacted by cancer in one way or another.

Chris (left) and Tina Lees (right) during their chemo appointments. (Submitted)

Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan CEO Nora Yeates says there are more than 35,000 radiation treatment sessions every year in the province.

She said the new equipment is a game-changer.

“We just started the Cancer Foundation in January of 2019 (and) this equipment was urgent. It’s working to save patients’ lives,” Yeates said. “Now we’re able to celebrate with our donors $3 million raised in just over two years and we are so grateful.”

The fundraising campaign to support the replacement of the CT simulators at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre and the Saskatoon Cancer Centre was initiated in September 2019.

Due to urgent need, the CT simulator at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre was purchased and installed in 2019, and the foundation raised the required funds retroactively.

The CT simulator at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre was installed and operational by the end of 2021.

“Until you are immersed in that world, you really don’t grasp how very, very important it is and how dedicated those people working there are to helping you get through what is essentially one of the worst times of your life,” Tina said.

“It is crucial that these places stay functioning and stay at the top of their game, like with whatever cutting(-edge) equipment is coming out with whatever cutting(-edge) technology is coming out. It is crucial they get that funding for whatever is needed.”