A Bunbury resident Kristy Borczuch has raised $20,432 for Solaris Cancer Care since 2018 to honour the support the charity provided to her sister during her cancer journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy younger sister Nat was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and received a recommendation to use Solaris\u2019s services,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moving back to Bunbury from NSW to support her sister, Kristy said they first did not know what Solaris offered nor what its services entailed but were curious to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure she booked in for reflexology but neither of us knew what it was at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As her sister Nat underwent chemotherapy and radiation, Solaris became a place that Nat wanted to visit every few weeks to seek a sense of connection and belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a place where my little sister always emerged from feeling stronger and at peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While her sister moved into cancer survivorship, Kristy said the family first started donating a collection of coins every few months to Solaris. In 2017, Kristy made the decision to go back into cardmaking, selling friends a few customised cards and donating the proceeds to the charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c2018 was when I \u2018stepped it up\u2019 and I started getting orders for cards from friends. I think it was then that I started wondering just how much I could possibly raise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She started a local Facebook page, Kristy\u2019s Fundraising from the Heart and quickly amassed over 500 buyers of her cards whom she now calls her friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristy has also expanded beyond cardmaking to also create glass cabochon necklaces and earrings, potted succulents and macrame fairies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her motivation behind these local artisanal products is to ensure Solaris\u2019s doors remain open into the future. Solaris receives minimal government funding and relies on the community to sustain its centres operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristy is determined that she provide a consistent level of support with all proceeds from her business going 100 per cent to Solaris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2018, Kristy has been steadily raising more money over the years going from $1212 in 2018 and $3974 in 2019 to $9188 in 2020 and now $6058 by June 2021. She aims to raise $12,000 \u2013 her highest support to date \u2013 before Christmas 2021 and hopes the Bunbury community will support her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSolaris has been a beacon of light in what many of us, families with members with cancer, would call \u2018dark times\u2019 and their regional services provide an anchor of support,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solaris Cancer Care is a community organisation that blends the best of modern medicine with evidence-based integrative cancer care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are truly grateful to Kristy and her family for their support for Solaris over the years. The money they have raised allows us to be there and offer a shoulder to lean on for the many families grappling with cancer in our state\u2019s remote areas,\u201d Solaris Cancer Care CEO Francis Lynch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patients, their families and carers can access Solaris\u2019s supportive services at six centres \u2013 three in metropolitan Perth (Cottesloe, Subiaco and Nedlands) and three in regional Western Australia at Bunbury, Albany and Port Hedland. Regional services are free and able to be accessed throughout the cancer journey from diagnosis to survivorship and palliative care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve passed halfway already so it\u2019s looking very promising for the remainder of the year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n