Helping local women diagnose, treat cancer

During a physical exam in 2003, Shelton resident Karen Hilburn was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"I was in shock in that I had no symptoms, nothing," she recalled in an interview with the Journal.

The small tumor was removed, and Hilburn underwent six weeks of radiation. "It's still so amazing to me that if you find out early enough, it's very preventable," she said.

Hilburn had medical insurance and didn't have to stay overnight at a hospital. But she was struck by the thought of women who couldn't handle the financial impact of such treatment. "It was catastropic, the kind of cost," she said.

So she and husband, Scott, made a decision: "The community has been so good to us. Let's look at ways to give back."

Twenty years ago, they founded the nonprofit Karen Hilburn Cancer Fund. Since then, the nonprofit has helped more than 600 Mason County women who are uninsured or underinsured pay for the diagnosis and treatment of breast, cervical, ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancers and the Gardasil vaccine to prevent the HPV virus.

The nonprofit's annual Denim & Diamonds Dinner auction this Sunday in the grand ballroom at Alderbrook Resort is sold out. Donations, which are 100% tax deductible, can be sent to the Karen Hilburn Cancer Fund, P.O. Box 1462, Shelton 98584. For more information, go to [email protected] or call 360-462-3863.

Hilburn and four others organized the first fundraiser with a few auction items 20 years ago at Stephen's Fine Dining in Shelton. The event raised about $2,500. The event was moved to Alderbrook after five years and it's been there ever since, except for two cancellations during the pandemic. That makes Sunday's event the 18th fundraiser.

The response from donors, and from the women who have benefitted from the fund, has been "so heartwarming," Hilburn said.

"I think people are just so wonderful in this community and so giving," she said.

The money is used for diagnoses and treatment of cancers up to $13,000 a year, insurance deductibles and co-pays, and transportation out of the area for radiation and chemotherapy.