IT is for a beloved sister that Barbara Cooke will hit the dusty roads, see the sights and drive over 2920 kilometres in the Cruisin’ Along car rally.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Yesterday 30 cars with 65 people left Orange on a 320 kilometre drive to Lake Cargelligo for day one of the Cruisin’ Along car rally.
Now in its fifth year the eight-day rally has raised over $300,000 to provide accommodation for people undergoing treatment for cancer in Orange.
Stage one of the lodge opened in October 2012, and this year’s rally participants hope to raise $100,000 to go towards stage two.
Ms Cooke’s sister Joyce Hagen is fighting terminal cancer, it is a fight she has been in for the last eight years.
She is one of the many people who until recently travelled to Sydney to undergo treatment for her cancer.
“It’s made it so much easier by the time she got back from Sydney she’d be exhausted,” she said.
“She’s a fighter she’s really tough,” an emotional Ms Cooke said of her sister.
Ms Cooke is on the rally with her partner Gary Cooper.
“I really feel for cancer patients ... I think it’s just a wonderful thing people can do,” she said.
Check out the video or photo gallery of the Cuisin’ Along car rally participants leaving Orange on Friday.
Over 500 people from across western NSW have called Western Care Lodge home while they have undergone treatment for cancer.
Stage two of the lodge will feature eight twin rooms so that patients can bring along a family member for support while they undergo treatment.
The $1.4 million stage two still has a $600,000 shortfall and rally participants will be holding a number of fundraising events during the rally.
For more information on the rally visit www.cruisin-along.org.au or to donate to the Western Care Lodge visit www.ccwest.org.au/howtohelp.php
