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Hastings rodeo raises funds for cancer patients at Morrison Cancer Center

Hastings, Neb. – The Oregon Trail Rodeo in Hastings in August isn’t just  a place to have a good time.

It’s also a way to help a neighbor.

When “pink” night descended on the rodeo on Sat., August 25, it was time to help out.

The rodeo has partnered with the Morrison Cancer Center to raise funds for the Center’s From the Heart program. From the Heart is a program the Morrison Center uses to give money to those going through cancer treatment at the Center. The campaign is called “Tough Enough to Wear Pink,” and the rodeo donated one dollar for every rodeo fan in pink during the August 25 rodeo, and passed a pink bucket, asking for voluntary donations, during the performance.

That money can be used for fuel, or, in the form of Chamber bucks, for other necessities like medicine.

For a Kearney woman, From the Heart funds have been very helpful.

Kim Vos, who is 52 years old, was diagnosed with stage 4 invasive ductal carcinoma, an incurable cancer, on Valentine’s Day of this year.

She is going through chemotherapy and chose to doctor in Hastings instead of Kearney, because of her mom’s experience at the Morrison Cancer Center. Her mom “doctored in Hastings,” she said, “and that’s why I chose Hastings. The Cancer Center is an incredible place.”

Vos first had cancer several years ago, and a bilateral mastectomy to treat it. Doctors told her no other treatment was necessary, so it was shocking when cancer came back for a second time.

Monies from the From the Heart have helped pay bills at the Vos household. She isn’t able to work full time at the restaurant she runs in Grand Island, so she’s gone from a salary to hourly income. “I’m having to cut my hours back,” she said. “I don’t have the energy.” As with most cancer patients, she’s working through emotional and physical pain as well as financial struggles. “As soon as you hear that you have stage 4 cancer, and that it’s incurable, you have all that on your brain. Then you’re thinking, how am I going to work? How will I pay my bills? I’m not one who doesn’t pay my bills.” The From the Heart gas cards and Chamber bucks helped. “Even that helped take the edge off” the worry.

Vos is married, with two daughters and two grandbabies, ages six years and 21 months, and they are incentive to keep going. “It’s been terrifying,” she said of her cancer journey. “But I have a Creator who loves me more than anyone else.” Her grandchildren “are my motivation to stick around, with my husband, to watch them grow up. I have to fight the fight so I can stick around as long as the Lord is willing to let me.”

Another local cancer patient benefits from the From the Heart funds.

Four days after her wedding on August 5, 2017, Sasha Aguirre was told she would need to have chemotherapy to fight a rare form of ovarian cancer.

She had a cyst removed from her ovary in June, and the doctor had said she would probably not need chemo, so she and her husband, Guillermo, weren’t concerned.

For Aguirre, receiving funds from Morrison Cancer Center’s From the Heart was needed. A student at Central Community College, she was also working part time. But during chemotherapy, her work hours (and her schooling) decreased. “My husband paid bills by himself,” she said. “We weren’t used to that.” From the Heart gave Aguirre chamber bucks to be used for fuel and other necessities.

Neither Vos nor Aguirre have attended the Hastings rodeo, but there’s a good chance they’ll be in the stands this year on Tough Enough to Wear Pink night.

The Oregon Trail Rodeo has raised more than $30,000 for the Morrison Cancer Center through its pink night.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink night is August 25; the rodeo will also be held on August 24 and August 26. Performances on the 24th and 25th begin at 7 pm. The August 26 rodeo starts at 5 pm. Tickets range in price from $10 to $20 for adults and $5 to $20 for children, and can be purchased at the Adams County Fairgrounds or at the gate. For more information,  visit www.AdamsCountyFairgrounds.com  or call 402.462.3247.