Fort St. John Cancer Support Circle receives donation from local company

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Cancer Support Circle has received a donation from Tourmaline Oil Corp.

On Wednesday, April 15th, Tourmaline Oil’s Director of Community and Indigenous Relations Talese Shilleto presented the Fort St. John Cancer Support Circle with a monetary donation. 

While the official amount of the donation was not disclosed, Brenda Baumeister, co-founder of the Fort St. John Cancer Support Circle said it will support several of the services the group offers.

“Tourmaline came forward and graciously gave us a donation, which is going to be really helpful for our care bags and if we do have to replace any wigs.”

Shilleto says the donation brings back a personal experience for her.

“Cancer touches all of us,” said Shilleto. “For me, it was direct with my family and my young son at the time, who had a wilms [kidney cancer] tumour. This donation is not only for our community from the company I work for, but is also near and dear to my heart.”

Baumeister says the support circle was formed to provide a place for those suffering from the disease to come and talk. 

“When you’re diagnosed with cancer, there’s so much information [it’s] scary,” said Baumeister. “Yes, you can talk to your nursing staff or your doctors, but sometimes they just need a nice stranger to talk to and as a peer support group, that’s what we do.”

The Fort. St John Cancer Support Circle offers many services, including care bags for families or those suffering from cancer, as well as a wig room for those who have lost their hair for a number of reasons, ranging from cancer to alopecia. 

The wig room offers a wide selection of wigs for those interested. Appointments for the wig room can be made by calling (250) 263-7824 or emailing fsjcsc@gmail.com.

More information can also be found on the support circle’s Facebook. 

According to Baumeister, the support circle also gives away gift cards for fuel or groceries when it can to people in the group.

The support group meets every second Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Mudita Studio at 8111 100th Avenue, Unit 202C. 

Attendance is free for anyone interested.