The Ismaili Women’s Cancer Support Group held its 2nd annual Salama Gala on Saturday, April 9 at the Executive Plaza Hotel in Coquitlam. The group raised over $66,000 to bring more cancer awareness in the community and remove the stigma once attached to this disease. The support group was started in 2002 after a needs assessment revealed an urgent requirement for such a forum to serve women affected by cancer. This was a collaborative initiative with the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). This peer support group welcomes women affected by cancer – cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. Six facilitators, rigorously trained under the aegis of the Canadian Cancer Society, lead the group. In 2003 the group formed a team, Team Salama, to participate in the Relay for Life. Salama means being well, safe and at peace in Swahili.
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