Edwards – When Carl Chapman faced five weeks of radiation treatment for prostate cancer, he had two options: Drive 100 miles each way from his home near Craig to the Shaw Regional Cancer Center here, or stay in an employee-housing suite donated by the Vail ski area.
“It was nothing real fancy. It had a kitchen in it and everything. They had beds, but you had to furnish your own linens and bring your own towels,” said the appreciative 65-year-old rancher and retired auto-shop owner. “It was a real blessing.”
After the Shaw Center opened in 2001 as the only cancer-treatment facility between Denver and Grand Junction, it was seen as a godsend to mountain residents and quickly began attracting patients from eight counties.
But with typical radiation therapy requiring daily treatment for six weeks, it soon became apparent that patients from places such as Aspen, Steamboat Springs and Winter Park would need a place to stay in the resort area – a significant cost that most insurance plans don’t cover.
Now a group of local residents known as the Shaw Outreach Team is raising $3.5 million to build an eight-bedroom Cancer Caring House next to the center, where patients and their families can stay for free.
“Some people can’t afford even $25 a night for six to eight weeks, and if you live three hours away, it adds up pretty quickly,” said Cheryl Jen sen, one of the volunteers spearheading the fundraising campaign.
Jensen’s husband, Bill, is chief operating officer of Vail Resorts, hence the donation of employee housing for cancer patients. She said she has been awed by the checks for $100,000 or more from contributors during the “quiet” phase of individual requests to well-heeled potential donors. But small donations during the public phase, starting this fall, will be just as heartwarming, she said.
“This is neighbors helping neighbors,” Cheryl Jensen said. “It’s been incredibly well received, not just by our community but people from Summit County and Pitkin County. I don’t think you can find anyone who hasn’t been touched by cancer.”
The need for temporary housing for cancer patients was first recognized a couple of years ago, when another Craig rancher undergoing therapy decided to sleep in his car. The caring house is intended to host the 75 percent of patients who come from outside Eagle County.
The Shaw Center features tasteful architecture and million-dollar views from leather lounge chairs where chemotherapy patients can take their IVs. It prides itself on personalized care – a trait expected to be replicated at the Cancer Caring House when it is built next year.
Dr. Patricia Hardenbergh, Shaw’s medical director, said the 9,400-square-foot house fits in well with the cancer center’s focus on holistic care.
“It’s not just housing. There’s more to it than just a roof over a patient’s head,” she said. “It’s really a place for cancer patients and their families to come together and form their own little community. It’s quite remarkable.”
For information on the Shaw Cancer Caring House, call 970-569-7492.
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at slipsher@denverpost.com or 970-513-9495.
