INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — After a two-year hiatus, the sun shined on the golfers at Grand Harbor who paid to play, socialize, wine, dine, and remember how hard cancer hits a community such as Indian River County’s. In its seventh year, Answer to Cancer, made up of Grand Harbor members, has achieved amazing progress in its mission to raise money to not only make improvements to the current cancer center at Indian River Medical Center, but to also help the hospital foundation in building a new infusion center as part of the hospital campus.
“We’re like the little engine that could,” said Carole Plante, co-chair of the event, which ultimately raised over $40,000 this year, bringing the total raised in seven years to more than $200,000, all of which is used to make receiving cancer care in this county easier and more comfortable.
“The first year, we raised $20,000,” she recalled. “This is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had.”
The mission of the organization, started by Plante, and co-chair Don Casey, and their spouses, was to raise money to improve the quality of cancer care in Vero Beach. Many members know intimately the struggles that go along with having cancer. Having a comfortable environment with state of the art equipment for cancer patients was their immediate goal.
“We want to give all of our money toward patient comfort,” said Plante, a 28-year breast cancer survivor, “because we’ve been there, and we know how miserable it is.”
“It is hard to go through treatment,” agreed Casey, who is a 6 1/2-year survivor of prostate cancer. “But there will be a new building, which will house the infusion center. We want to make sure that patients are comfortable and cared for with the most cutting edge equipment.”
Hundreds of pink and yellow luminaries honoring loved ones, both survivors and those who had passed, sat in the middle of round dining tables, and lined the circular driveway in front of the Grand Harbor Club House.
At dusk, they were lit in a solemn, bittersweet ceremony.
An extended cocktail hour was the perfect time for guests to survey the many items up for silent auction, including a hand-knit sweater, gorgeous green Merrill shoes, golf for two at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., boat rides, skin treatments, and gift baskets.
A considerate touch were the reading glasses by each auction item, for those who keep losing or forgetting, or who are in denial about needing them.
“We have our hearts and souls in this because so many of our family members have passed away from cancer,” said Carole Plante’s husband, Bob. “A day like today is a lot of fun, but it really means a lot to a lot of people.”