Fundraiser to benefit mom with cancer, testing a speedy flu shot

The past year hasn't been a good one for Dawn Casey. Every time she thinks things are looking up, her health deteriorates again.

It started in April when doctors found a lump on her ovary - a cyst roughly the size of her uterus. After preforming surgery to remove the growth, doctors said it was benign.

Then after experiencing pain, she went back to the doctors and was told that tests showed she had lesions on her liver and masses in her breast. So many growths in fact, that to remove them would essentially mean having a full mastectomy. After surgery to remove some of them, they were found to benign.

But Casey wasn't so lucky when it can to the lesions on her liver - they were cancerous.

It meant she couldn't work, something she needed to do to support her daughter, Noeva Thomas.

"I keep getting sick, I just keep getting sick and my 2-year-old daughter depends on me," Casey said.

Now, Casey is scheduled to undergo treatment at UC-Davis Medical Center and her friend is holding a fundraiser to help defray her medical expenses.

"We were best friends growing up. She's my life and what she is doing for me - I can't even describe it. What these people have done for me gives me hope," Casey said.

The Halloween Party fundraiser will run from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday at Decades Bar and Grille, 1475 Old Hot Springs Road. The event will feature live music with Kut Pile, raffles, costume contests and more.

An account has been established to collect donations at Wells Fargo. Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so at any Wells Fargo location. Specify the Dawn Marie Fund when donating.

Call 883-8889 or 841-3100 for information.

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The Carson City Health and Human Services Department hosted a free immunization clinic to protect area residents from seasonal flu and to practice emergency preparedness procedures for mass vaccination.

"Call the Shots" free flu shot event was held Oct. 13 at the Carson City Senior Citizens Center.

"We were scheduled to begin vaccinating at 9 a.m. but the public was lining up around the building and down the street, so we opened the clinic 40 minutes early. The entire clinic was a huge success," said Dr. Vicky Fogelman, Director of Carson City Health & Human Services.

The department also used the clinic to test its ability to quickly immunize large numbers of people within a short period of time to help prepare for a public health emergency.

"Based on our performance on Saturday, we could vaccinate over 600 people an hour. Each year that we test ourselves, we become more efficient at this process. We tested a drive-thru clinic this year and it was a big hit," Fogelman said.

Officials in Washoe County also held a free community flu shot clinic Saturday at Reed High School. They were able to vaccinate 2,500 people in approximately 31Ú2 hours and ran out of vaccine nearly 30 minutes early.