Courtesy Compassion House.
Compassion House, an Edmonton home for women in cancer treatment, is asking Lloydminster for support Thursday.
The Compassion House Foundation hosts a free information night Oct. 22 at Rolling Green Fairways Golf Course and RV Park. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the program starts at 7 p.m.
Guests must RSVP through the foundation’s website by 5 p.m. Wednesday ( https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/registration-form/?formId=a310f182-e2cc-46f4-9b78-0f8326361ea3&envId=p-ftGp2_VEkUideKRS9a14FQ&zone=can ). Organizers will hand out donation envelopes and a QR code. There is no set fundraising goal.
Donations pay for utility bills, upkeep of the house van and the day-to-day running of the house, organizers said.
The foundation runs Sorrentino’s Compassion House, which has housed women travelling to Edmonton for treatment at the Cross Cancer Institute since 2002.
More than 400 women from Lloydminster and area have stayed there, said Tanya Plamondon, a former guest helping organize the event. More than 100 are from Lloydminster alone.
Little donation or sponsorship money flows back from this region, said Plamondon. Most past support has come from Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie, she said.
The foundation says the house receives no government funding. It relies on donations, sponsors and community partners.
The evening opens with a short program from women at the house. They will cover its history and share photos. Two or three former guests from Lloydminster will then tell their stories.
Standard suites cost $75 a night for stays under three nights, according to the foundation’s website. Stays of three nights or longer cost $55 a night. Guests cook their own meals and can bring one adult companion for $10 more a night.
Women with any type of cancer can stay if they live at least 50 km from Edmonton. They need a finalized treatment plan to book, said Plamondon. She pre-registered months ahead, then booked once her radiation schedule was set.
Plamondon stayed three weeks last November. Radiation ran Monday to Friday, with appointments of 15 to 20 minutes, she said. The lowest hotel medical rate she found was $120 a night. One hotel quoted $300.
“It didn’t feel like a hospital stay at all,” said Plamondon.
She described private rooms, a shared kitchen, a gym and a van that takes guests on errands. The Cross Cancer Institute provides daily rides to treatment.
“Cancer has a darkness no one talks about,” said Plamondon. “I felt dark heading into my three weeks of treatment and that house brought my light back.”
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