A heartfelt thank you to all the runners, walkers, volunteers and sponsors who made this year's Race for Recovery a success. With help from our friends at Clavet Composite School, HOPE raised close to $50,000 to support people with cancer in Saskatoon.

Check out the action from this year's race in photos, and feel free to share them.

Wow! The rain held off, we had a great walk and fun run, and capped it all off with a relaxed Sunday picnic in the park with music from the Karpinka brothers.  What a great way to celebrate 25 years of HOPE. Have a peek at a few of the photos we snapped along the trail...

Please take a moment to remember Lilah Brehon, one of the three women who founded the HOPE Cancer Help Centre 25 years ago. After a long battle with cancer, Brehon died at St. Paul's Hospital on May 10, 2014. Her funeral will be held at Grosvenor Park United Church at 10:00 a.m. Friday, May 23.

Lilah Brehon was a wonderful person, whose energy and spirit built HOPE into an organization that reaches out to all cancer survivors, regardless of their type or diagnosis. She was an integral part of the Race for Recovery. Always putting others before herself, she won the Saskatoon YWCA's "Woman of Distinction" award in 2001, along with HOPE's other two co-founders, Marie Thiesson and Olga Stefaniuk. 

"I always hated when people who, as soon as they heard somebody had cancer, decided they were going to die the next day," said Brehon, in a Saskatoon Express interview last year. "So I wanted to make this group all that time ago. You have to think positively because if you do it will help your immune system." (Here's a PDF version of that article - Lilah Brehon (April 2013).pdf (65.54 kb))

Jean Epp-Gauthier will host a 'Mandala' workshop at the HOPE Cancer Help Centre in Saskatoon, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday, May 10, 2014. 

"The mandala appears in all aspects of life, from the celestial circles we call the earth, sun and moon, to the conceptual circles of friends, family, and community. Through art therapy, this workshop will provide a creative visual and experiential demonstration of healing, unity, and peace." 

The cost is $10 (or a donation). To find out more or to register, call (306) 955-4673.

HOPE Cancer Help Centre serves people suffering from all different types of cancer, meeting needs not met by other organizations. Unlike other groups, we can respond quickly and flexibly, providing limited uninsured health services to cancer patients who cannot otherwise afford them.

These three women founded HOPE back in 1989. From right: Olga Stefaniuk, Marie Thiessen, and Lilah Breton.

HOPE's three founding members felt it was important to have a Saskatoon group to support patients with cancer, regardless of what kind of cancer it was. Twenty-five years later, HOPE continues to offer peer-led support groups, one-on-one support, financial assistance, local cancer advocacy, as well as workshops and presentations. 

Last year, your donations meant HOPE bought prescriptions not covered by Sask Health, including medications to relieve radiation burns and nausea. They meant ostomy supplies, for patients who've lost part of their colon, and who cannot otherwise leave their homes. They meant a rented wheelchair lift, allowing a palliative patient to remain home with her family. The quality of life of hundreds of cancer patients has improved thanks to the generosity of HOPE's supporters.

Our grassroots organization does not receive a penny of government funding. You won't see pink-branded items on sale at our Race for Recovery. Every dollar this non-profit raises stays in Saskatoon and area. As a registered charity, we rely heavily on volunteers, service clubs, the private sector, and people like you to make a difference. 

Our upcoming major fundraiser is the 19th Annual Race for Recovery on Sunday, June 1, 2014. We're counting on you to lace up your shoes, and bring out your family to show support for local cancer patients who need your help.