Taking the fight to cancer

COEUR d'ALENE - In its second year, The Showcase tripled the amount raised to support the Community Cancer Fund, which provides cancer care and research in the Inland Northwest.

The event raised more than $1.83 million, far surpassing the $551,000 raised last year.

"I don't think in our wildest dreams we would raise that amount," said Jerid Keefer, director of The Showcase. "To triple our amount from last year is truly humbling."

In Spokane this past weekend, a surprise backyard concert by Keith Urban helped raise $625,000. A nine-hole golf exhibition was held at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course, featuring celebrities such as NBA All-Star Detlef Schrempf, former Pro Bowl quarterback Neil Lomax, Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Grant Fuhr, former NFL kicker Ryan Longwell, as well as PGA golfers Alex Prugh of Spokane, Jason Gore, Andres Gonzales - whose father died of cancer - and Joel Dahmen of Clarkston, Wash., who is a cancer survivor and whose brother and father all battled cancer.

All proceeds from The Showcase benefit the Community Cancer Fund and will remain in the Inland Northwest to support local cancer patients and the organizations that serve them at every stage of the illness.

The Community Cancer Fund works in collaboration with other local cancer charities, and a portion of the proceeds from this year's event will be used to support the YWCA's Camp Goodtimes, a local weeklong summer camp for Inland Northwest children battling cancer.