Bloglander

In just its second year, the fundraising weekend known as The Showcase raised $1.83 million for the Community Cancer Fund, money that will go toward cancer screenings, research, treatment and patient support in the Inland Northwest. 

The weekend's activities included a surprise backyard concert by country star Keith Urban, a celebrity-amateur golf tournament at Coeur d'Alene Resort, a dinner and action at the Hagadone residence, and a celebrity golf exhibition that featured pro golfers Alex Prugh, Jason Gore, Andres Gonzalez and Jael Dahmen, as well as former NFL players Neil Lomax and Ryan Longwell, hockey great Grant Fuhr, and Sonics legend Detlef Schrempf. 

Many of the celebs on hand had dealt with cancer in their own lives and families, and talked about how the disease affected them at the various weekend events. 

All of the money raised will stay in the Inland Northwest and support organizations dedicated to working with patients in the area, including the YWCA's Camp Goodtimes, a summer camp for children battling cancer. 

The fundraiser comes at a time where battling cancer has taken on a new urgency in the Inland Northwest, thanks to the collaboration of three health-care providers known as the InnerPacific Alliance for Cancer Care. The alliance is a project of Cancer Care Northwest, Kootenai Health and Providence Health Care, and is an effort to integrate their various services into the best oncology services possible for patients. Ultimately, the alliance hopes to promote more coordinated patient care, improve outcomes and expand each program's offerings, regardless of a patient's ability to pay. Their first initiative launched earlier this year, a radiation oncology program in which patients are able to receive treatment at eight locations throughout the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene areas.