CANCER care home • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Building it, so they may come

By Gaye Bunderson

Both Elvis and the Beatles are proving to be a benefit to BarbraJohnson. Johnson is working to establish a home in Nampa for people living in rural areas who must travel to the Treasure Valley for cancer treatments. She received a cancer diagnosis herself in 2005,just three weeks after she retired from her job as a high school administrator in California and moved to Idaho with her husband Clovis.
"It was during radiation treatment that I learned that in Idaho we have approximately 538,000 residents who live in what are considered rural areas where cancer treatment is either limited or non-existent," Johnson said during a local Optimist Club presentation. "This is especially true for patients who need radiation treatment for five to seven weeks."
Those rural communities include Emmett, McCall and Mountain Home, to name a few. Some patients in those towns have had to forego treatment for lack of a cost-free place to stay, or else incur hotel costs alongside high medical expenses. The American Cancer Soci- ety offers Hope Lodges, but at present there is an insufficient number of them in the Northwest.

AfterJohnson made the decision to try and help others receive the life-saving treatments she was fortunate enough to have, she launched into building a team of people who shared the common goal of establishing a residence similar to children's Ronald McDonald House but for adults 21 and over. In 2013, the project she named Chase Away the Clouds received 50 I (c)(3) nonprofit status and now has a board of directors that includes a physician, accountant, attorney, and other professionals. Many are cancer survivors themselves, or have been touched by cancer in some way. One such board member is physician eff Jacobs, who works in OB/GYN at Saint Alphonsus-Nampa. His son Josh, now 19, was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 12. Josh received treatment at St.Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.; during that time, osh andJacobs' wife Anne spent nine months living in Memphis in various free housing for child cancer su!Terers and their parents or guardians. They were particularly impressed with Target House, long-stay apartments located near St. Jude and funded by Target Stores.

Johnson said it has been difficult to secure funding for the home. For instance, grants are unavailable for "brick and mor­ tar" structures. She even approached Gov. Butch Otter for sup­ port and may get the opportunity to meet with him in the near future, but it has been difficult to arrange due to the governor's schedule. Still, there is positive news in the generosity of board members and others in the community familiar with her project.

For example:

• Architect Randy Haverfield has committed to desi_gning the 4-bedroom, 4½-bath home. Among other achievements, Haver­ field designed the brand new Nampa Public Library building.
• Board member Danny Bower has secured a commitment from the LDS church ward where he serves as a bishop to sup­ ply all the mattresses the house will need. Bower is also doing pro bono legal work for the nonprofit. Leiann Snyder, public affairs director of the church's Nampa South Stake, said: "We're excited; we think it's a great project, and we may be able to donate more things in the future. We have resources that we are able to tap into when we have an opportunity to do something good in the community."
• Danny Smith, owner of the Nampa Mr. Appliance branch, has committed donations of appliances for the home when it is built.
• Painter Ken Bopp volunteered to contribute supplies and labor to the "home away from home."
• TheJacobs contributed a bicycle that will be raffled off.
• Fred Meyer, through its Community Rewards Program, will match customer rewards points to Chase Away the Clouds if the customer requests it.

The budget for construction of the house is $255,000, and a piece of land is still being sought - hopefully acreage that will also be given as a donation. "Nampa is an excellent location because of the increase in new medical facilities, availability of vacant land and small town appeal," reads a Chase Away the Clouds proposal. (Saint Alphonsus is now set to build a new $80 million hospital in Nampa and open it by 2017

Johnson's passion helps move the project along; her hus­ band has been a source of encouragement, calling her "the glue that keeps it together." She shows no sign of giving up and cites data indicating that if current cancer rates continue, 43 percent of children born today will receive a cancer diag­ nosis in their lifetime. Those daunting statistics propel her to keep up her fundraising and other efforts.

"What a great charity," Jacobs said. "Barb's a real sweet­ heart of an individual. I get a little discouraged sometimes, but she's great. She hangs in there and keeps plugging away. It's a testament to her diligence and her personal experience with cancer."

"I'm ready to go door-to-door," Johnson said.