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Halt Cancer at X Donates More Than $47,000 to Local Nonprofits

Started by Sarah Broussard in 2012, the initiative has given more than $500,000 to local and national efforts

By Justin Franz
Sarah Broussard announces the recipients of more than $47,000 in grants from the Halt Cancer at X foundation at a ceremony at Flathead Valley Community College on Oct. 25, 2018. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon

Halt Cancer at X, a local fundraising initiative founded by Sarah Broussard of Rebecca Farm, gave $47,200 to four local nonprofits that support women who are dealing with breast cancer.

Broussard, who started the charity in honor of her mother, Rebecca Broussard, who died of breast cancer in 2010, announced the winners during a ceremony at Flathead Valley Community College’s Rebecca Chaney Broussard Center for Nursing & Health Science on Oct. 25.

Casting for Recovery, a nonprofit that brings woman on fly-fishing trips, received $2,500. Flathead Cancer Aid Services, which provides grants to women for non-medical needs, received $10,000. Kalispell Regional Healthcare’s Cancer Support & Survivorship program, which provides free programs that complement traditional medical care for cancer, received $15,700. And Save a Sister, which provides preemptive breast cancer screenings, received $19,000.

Since 2012, when the Halt Cancer at X initiative was founded, approximately $220,000 has been given to local cancer-fighting efforts and more than $320,000 has been given to national groups conducting cancer research, most recently the Mayo Clinic. Broussard said the money is raised through a number of sources, including competitor pledges and parking donations during The Event at Rebecca Farm, an annual equestrian competition.

“This has become so much more than I ever imagined,” Broussard said, during the Oct. 25 ceremony.

Lizzy Dwyer, a board member with Flathead Cancer Aid Services, said her organization supported 10 women in 2017, helping them with everything from transportation to rent. Flathead Cancer Aid Services was established in 2012.

“Life does not stop when you are diagnosed with cancer,” she said. “You still have to pay rent and pay for groceries.”

Dr. Amanda Beer is a diagnostic radiologist who helps run the Save a Sister program, a collaboration between KRH, North Valley Hospital and the Flathead City-County Health Department. Beer said in the last two years, the program has provided thousands of mammograms and ultrasounds to local women to try to diagnose cancer early.

“We spend every penny we get on patient care,” Beer said.

For additional information, visit https://www.rebeccafarm.org/halt-cancer.