SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., - Regional West Medical Center’s Cancer Treatment Center will host its Cancer Survivors’ Day celebration Sunday, April 15 at the Gering Civic Center from 2 to 4 p.m. This free event is open to all area cancer survivors and their support person. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (308) 630-1541 by Wednesday, April 11. Refreshments will be served.

Cancer Survivors’ Day is an annual event at which cancer survivors, their families, physicians and other members of the oncology health care team gather to applaud cancer survivors and their personal victories. A cancer survivor is anyone with a history of cancer and includes newly diagnosed as well as long-term survivors. An estimated 10.5 million Americans are now living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis, including over 4,100 cancer survivors in the Nebraska panhandle.

This year’s theme is Seeking Your Life’s Treasures. A familiar face to most western Nebraska residents, Helene Duhamel, a news anchor at KOTA-TV in Rapid City, South Dakota, will give the keynote address, “Helene’s story - a journey of hope.” Duhamel will share her own inspirational, moving survival story of facing cancer as a young wife and mother.

“Until you've walked in the footsteps, you really can't understand how it feels to be told you have cancer, how it feels to take chemotherapy or radiation or how it feels to lose someone to cancer,” said Duhamel. “I am one of millions who have, who are and who will fight cancer.”

For more information, contact Regional West’s Cancer Treatment Center at (308) 630-1348.

Regional West Health Services, with over 1,400 employees, provides comprehensive and innovative health care services for the people and communities of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. With over 110 active physicians, 95 percent of whom are board certified or board eligible, plus an additional 25 consulting specialists, we offer care that spans more than 40 medical specialties. Regional West Medical Center, a subsidiary of Regional West Health Services, is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and is one of only three Level II Trauma Centers in the state of Nebraska.