      Friends of a 29-year-old former Kamsack resident battling brain cancer are inviting everyone to attend a fundraising dance on March 26.
           Former resident Derek Cherkas of Yorkton, who is a son of Darryl and Margy Cherkas, discovered on October 31 that he had brain cancer, said Jenna Bowes, one of his friends who is organizing the fundraiser.
           Until then, Derek was healthy with no signs or symptoms of anything wrong, Bowes said. He had been off work since May 2015 because he had been recovering from a knee surgery.
“He attended his last round of schooling in September and in October he received his journeyman’s ticket to be a pipefitter,” she said. “He was very excited and scheduled to begin work as a journeyman on November 2.
“Unfortunately, on October 31, 2015, his life changed for the worse when he found out that he had a four-centimetre mass in the occipital lobe of his brain. Immediately he was rushed to Regina where he met with a neurosurgeon and he underwent multiple tests and scans.
“He was diagnosed with a Grade IV glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive brain tumors a patient can get. The neurosurgeon told him he had 12 to 13 months to live, and that was with surgery, aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. Without treatment, he would have even less time.
“On December 3, he had a craniotomy, where a portion of his tumor was resected. Due to the location of the tumor, the surgeon was unable to remove all of it.
“The tumor has caused him to become visually impaired and the surgery resulted in him losing his left peripheral vision. Due to this, he is unable to work or drive. On January 6 he began his first day of his six-week treatments of radiation and chemotherapy. He was scheduled to take these treatments until February 17.
“So far he is coping well with treatments, other than being tired.
“Derek will most likely have to seek clinical trials in the near future,” Bowes said. “Saskatchewan has limited resources for trials and he will most likely have to go out of province to seek help.”
The fundraiser, centring around a dance being held at the OCC Hall in Kamsack on March 26, will include a 50/50 ticket draw, a music man, silent auctions and a bar. Minors need to be with a parent or guardian. Â Pre-sale tickets are being sold at the Kamsack Petro-Can and Co-op stations, or one may pay $10 at the door.
There is a bank account that has been set up in Derek’s name at the Kamsack branch of Affinity Credit Union for donations.
