Vault Cycle Fundraiser fun

Do it if you can! There are people with cancer, in hospital or in treatment, unwell and unable to get up and get going. But you know who DID get going? Over 25 people came out to @Vault Cycle Club for a high energy, fun spin class and to raise money for Cancer Crossing! That's right, on March 7th we had a full room of men and women giving it their all so they could support cancer patients in Manitoba.

Huge thanks go out to @Vault Cycle Club for offering us a discounted rate. Also huge thanks to Allyson Kendall who graciously donated her time to instruct the class. Allyson reminded us all to keep going for cancer patients. Thank you to our participants for their donations to Cancer Crossing. A fun and sweaty time was had by all!

Small town woman in financial need

 Cancer patients have multiple needs often over a very long time. We were recently asked to help a woman in her 50s with her ongoing expenses. She lives in a small town south of Winnipeg. She's unable to work at present and is on disability and is awaiting further surgery. She also has limited financial support and struggles to afford items she needs for her care. We were able to give her a one time payment to assist with her needs. You can help us provide financial relief to cancer patients in need by donating at https://cancercrossing.com/

Winnipeg child with brain cancer

 Children should get a pass on cancer, and too often they do not. This is the case for a teenage boy with brain cancer. He was diagnosed 5 years ago and continues to receive treatment. His father is a single parent to him and two other children. His income consists of EI Caregiver support. This family is dealing with a lot, from a sick child, to raising other younger children, and doing it all on a substantially reduced income. They recently received an unexpected repair bill and were extremely grateful for the assistance that Cancer Crossing was able to provide to them, covering their bill and providing for some extra's for the child's care and comfort. We wish this family well and good health in the days ahead. Donations are gratefully received at https://cancercrossing.com/

Interlake woman needs help

 Cancer Crossing was asked to assist a woman in her mid-70s with transportation costs. She is travelling to Winnipeg for radiation therapy, which is 30 total round trips. Since she has pets at home she must return daily to take care of them. She will drive herself as long as she can as there is no volunteer driver program in her community. Her retirement income consists of CPP and OAS, which doesn't leave much for extra travel costs. We were pleased to be able to help her and wish her all the best for renewed health. You too can help Manitobans with cancer by donating at https://cancercrossing.com/, charitable tax receipts will be given.

Child must travel to Toronto for surgery

 We were sad to hear of a pre-school age boy with liver cancer. He is undergoing treatment in Winnipeg had an assessment at Sick Kids in Toronto and will be going again for further testing and surgical planning for a liver transplant there. There is also a baby in the family and so one parent is on maternity leave and the other parent is on EI Caregiver benefits. This leaves the required travel out of reach financially. While we cannot cover the entire cost, we were able to provide the family with some financial help which hopefully make their travel easier. We wish them all the best for their son's full recovery. Please donate at https://cancercrossing.com/

Winnipeg woman receives help

 Cancer Crossing was recently able to help a woman in her early 60s who has lung cancer with metastasis. She is unable to work, her employer will not give any accommodations so that she can work with some help, and so she is receiving CPP Disability as her only income. This is leaving her stretched tight and she asked for help so that she could buy groceries. It's hard to imagine being in such circumstances and so we were glad to lighten her load by providing some monetary assistance. Please help us help others by donating at https://cancercrossing.com/. Tax deductible receipts will be given as we are a registered charity.

Thank you!

 We at Cancer Crossing were delighted to receive thanks from some clients recently. One woman wrote that the support from Cancer Crossing was huge as they were dealing with financial stresses due to her diagnosis. Her advice to others to is to give yourself a lot of grace, rest when you can and take care of yourself. A surprise to her in her illness was that it took a lot of strength and compassion for herself. It took a lot of self love to deal with not having hair, eyelashes or eyebrows. We are so glad to have been of help. You can help too by donating at https://cancercrossing.com/

Man asks for help

 Cancer Crossing has been asked to provide help to a 65 year old gentleman living east of Winnipeg. He has a recent diagnosis of gastroesphageal cancer and has daily trips to Winnipeg for treatment. Total distance to be traveled is in excess of 2000 km. He needs help for gas and parking expenses and we are are pleased to be able to step in.

Mom and Dad both have cancer and need help

 Some families go through unrelenting hardship. Such was the case for a young family living south of Winnipeg. First, the young mom received a shocking diagnosis of inoperable brain cancer. She soon started on the difficult treatment plan that included daily trips for radiation, chemo and appointments. Her husband ended up taking EI caregiver leave as she was no longer able to drive and was on permanent disability. Family stepped in to help their young children's routines, getting to school etc. Very unexpectedly the husband also received a cancer diagnosis and is embarking on his own treatment plan of chemo and surgery. To say this is devastating is an understatement. They desperately needed help as they had to place a hold on mortgage payments due to the drop in income. Fortunately Cancer Crossing was able to give them a little help to ease their financial burden. Please help us help others, donate at https://cancercrossing.com/

Fundraiser coming soon

 Watch this space! We have an upcoming spin class fundraiser in March. Full details to follow.

Payroll donation deductions

 Good news! The City of Winnipeg has set up payroll deduction for employees to donate to Cancer Crossing automatically. We are now a registered charity and all donations are provided with a tax receipt. Automatic payroll donations are a one-time set up, making this an easy way to help Manitobans with cancer. https://www.winnipeg.ca/

Thank you

 Cancer Crossing has received thanks from a grateful recipient. We assisted a gentleman who wrote to us later to tell us that it was a huge help in being able to get to appointments. He expressed surprise as well as he had no idea that help was available until his social worker told him. He tells other cancer patients to not give up hope! Your donations help other Manitobans with cancer, please give at https://cancercrossing.com/ a tax receipt is given.

Cancer Warning Signs

 Seven cancer warning signs include changes in bowel/bladder habits, a sore that won't heal, unusual bleeding/discharge, a thickening/lump, indigestion/trouble swallowing, a change in a wart/mole, and a nagging cough/hoarseness, though many other persistent symptoms like unexplained weight loss, fatigue, fever, or pain should also prompt a doctor's visit. These signs aren't definitive cancer indicators but warrant medical investigation, especially if they last more than a few weeks or worsen. Early detection significantly improves cancer outcomes.

Series of misfortunes for Winnipeg family

 Imagine not only being diagnosed with breast cancer, but having a a quadruple whammy of misfortune. That's what happened to this young Winnipeg family. This young mom was let go from her career of over 10 years when her company was acquired by another. Seven days after the expiry of her employer health benefits she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then she was in a car accident and her vehicle was totaled. Further troubles happened when her husband had surgery for a lump and had to take time off work. This woman cannot work due to her health but she also has no critical illness insurance and she doesn't qualify for EI coverage. There is no money to buy another car so they have been taking the bus to appointments and to get her child where they need to go. Not only is this difficult enough, but being so ill while trying to juggle the logistics of getting everyone where they need to go is a huge burden. Money is so tight that they are now going to the local food bank so they can eat. This is a horrible series of misfortunes for this hardworking couple. Cancer Crossing is so glad that they reached out for help and are pleased to have been able to help in a small way.

Gimli man with prostate cancer

 Cancer Crossing was approached to assist a gentleman from the Gimli area. He has prostate cancer and must travel to Winnipeg for radiation treatments. He does not drive and the cost to him to hire a driver is over $100 each trip. This is adding up and putting a dent in his budget as he is on CPP and OAS and there is no room for this cost. Fortunately we are able to provide some financial help and we wish him the best for renewed health. We gratefully accept tax deductible donations at https://cancercrossing.com/ so that we may help more people in need. Photo: Travel Manitoba

Western Manitoba man receives help

 Recently Cancer Crossing was approached to help a man in his late 60s. He lives west of Brandon and has metastatic melanoma. He does not drive and is relying on friends to drive him to Brandon and to Winnipeg for scans and treatments. He cannot afford ongoing costs of travel and medication as he is reliant on a small pension. He hopes to apply for Pharmacare which could help with some costs of medication. Luckily we are able to provide him with a small cheque to assist towards costs. Please help us help others by donating at https://cancercrossing.com/, tax receipts are available.

An ounce of prevention...

 We have all heard the expression "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". These days we are all aware of the risks of smoking. Of course with the rise in vaping there is a new risk that we need to be aware of. Vaping may be a lower cancer risk but it's still a risk, and there is growing evidence that it can cause damage to DNA. This is especially important for young people to know as they are more likely to vape than to smoke.

We are beginning to understand the risk of alcohol consumption in causing cancer. Lesser known cancer risks are being overweight especially in conjunction with alcohol and tobacco use. A risk that is more recently known is the risk from salt-preserved foods like salted dried fish, meat jerky, and pickled vegetables.

All these risks play a role in some more aggressive and difficult to diagnose cancers. We can do our part to help ourselves and our loved ones by not smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating a healthy diet by decreasing salted and pickled foods, and with daily physical activity. Of course, despite best efforts, some of us will be diagnosed with cancer. This is when medical treatment takes over, giving us our best chance at overcoming the illness. The good news is that the cancer rate in Canada has been dropping for 10-15 years. Read more at https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/4547-lifetime-probability-developing-and-dying-cancer-canada

Help Cancer Crossing help Manitobans by donating at https://cancercrossing.com/ Charitable tax receipts are available.

Survivable cancers

 Don't despair! Many cancers are curable, with a close to 100% survival rate. Some of the most treatable and survivable cancers are skin cancers, namely squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common of these and is very slow growing, rarely spreads, and is easily treated.

Other highly treatable and survivable cancers are Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Testicular, thyroid, prostate and breast cancers are all highly survivable depending on how quickly they were detected. Additionally, Canada is leading the way with best outcomes for other cancers, having the highest survival rates among developed nations for lung and colon cancers.

More information is available at https://www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca/news-events/news/article/survival-rates-canada/ and https://int.livhospital.com/most-curable-cancers/

Help Cancer Crossing help Manitobans living with cancer by donating at https://cancercrossing.com/ Charitable tax receipts are available.

Man with rectal cancer

 Recently we were informed of a man in his late 60s, diagnosed with rectal cancer. His treatment involves travel to Winnipeg for daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy. Once radiation treatments are complete his chemo treatments will likely shift to Selkirk. Total travel for all treatment is estimated at 2700 km. Since both he and his wife are on CPP and OAS there isn't a lot of room in the budget for extra costs of travel. Cancer Crossing gladly gave some financial assistance so he can access treatment. https://cancercrossing.com/

Photo from Travel Manitoba

Interlake man receives help

 Cancer Crossing has been notified about a recently retired gentleman with metastatic cancer. He has limited CPP as he was self employed and is not yet eligible for OAS. An application for CPP disability payments has been made but it takes months to be assessed. He has been selling personal possessions in order to afford gasoline for up to two trips per week to Gimli for chemotherapy. The financial strain is considerable and his small town has limited supports in place. His chemo is long term so there is ongoing need. Fortunately Cancer Crossing is able to give him some financial support so he can continue going to treatment. You too can help us help others with your donations at https://cancercrossing.com/ Tax receipts are provided.

Happy 2026

 Happy New Year from Cancer Crossing! May the coming year be healthy and happy for you all.