Moose Jaw Raises $150K to Triple Cancer Treatment Capacity

When Teri Peters needed chemotherapy last year, every treatment meant a drive to Regina in a car packed with dry ice and special cooling caps. The Moose Jaw resident made the journey while battling breast cancer, changing frozen caps every 20 minutes to preserve her hair and protect her hands and feet during treatment.

"It made it a lot more exhausting," Peters said. "If I could have been closer to home, it would have been a heck of a lot easier."

Now Peters is in remission and back at work as a dietitian. And her hometown is about to make sure future patients won't face the same grueling commute.

The Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital is expanding its chemotherapy services from two chairs and one stretcher to six chairs and two stretchers. The 800 CHAB Family First Radiothon aims to raise $150,000 to fund new equipment, IV pumps, monitoring systems, and patient comfort items through the Moose Jaw Health Foundation.

For Peters, the expansion represents more than convenience. Winter driving conditions and repeated appointments turned an already difficult experience into something harder. Any delay in treatment could mean the difference between life and death.

The statistics drove home why this matters. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, not counting other cancer types. Peters realized the disease doesn't discriminate by age or background.

The Ripple Effect

The impact reaches beyond individual patients to entire families who support loved ones through treatment. Peters described the extensive preparation her family handled for each Regina trip, managing coolers of dry ice and timing cap changes while she focused on healing.

Local treatment means parents can attend their children's school events between appointments. It means spouses don't need to take full days off work for drives. It means elderly patients with mobility challenges aren't facing highway travel during Saskatchewan winters.

Peters calls it "Team Moose Jaw against cancer," emphasizing how communities grow stronger when they support their most vulnerable members. The fight starts with practical solutions: six chairs, two stretchers, and the funding to make it happen.

She urged neighbors to consider how cancer touches everyone. "You never think this is something that could happen to you," Peters said. "It could impact someone you love and care a whole lot about."

The 20th annual radiothon represents two decades of community investment in local healthcare, bringing sophisticated treatment options to smaller centers where patients can heal surrounded by familiar faces and nearby loved ones.