Albany Herald

ALBANY, Ga. — Attendees at the Give Cancer the Boot country music event this Friday will be set for a good time, with an even greater benefit for a Baker County family.

The event, featuring Faith Jackson, Stephen Harrell and Highway 55, will began at 6:30 p.m. at the State Theater on Pine Avenue, according to Hannah Scholar, a founding member of Cancer Ties 2, an Albany patient advocacy group.

Give Cancer the Boot will be the first scheduled benefit sponsored by the group, Scholar said, with a portion of the proceeds going to Lee and Blair Ethridge to help defray costs during a time when their daughter, Brynlee, is undergoing leukemia treatment. Brynlee, 3, was diagnosed with the blood cancer in February, Cancer Ties sources said.

Cancer Ties 2 was founded in 2011 as an “off-shoot” of the original Cancer Ties, according to Carrie Hutchinson, president and co-founder of Cancer Ties. Hutchinson said the parent group was formed in 2007 by seven mutual friends of a breast cancer patient, with the idea of sponsoring and producing one benefit event each September.

According to Hutchinson, there is a common misconception that medical insurance covers all or most of the costs associated with cancer and other diseases. Even if a family with cancer has adequate “coverage,” there are always medical trips, hotel rooms and days when the patient or caregiver can’t work to earn money, Hutchinson said.

“We’re not in the business of paying medical bills per se,” Hutchinson said. “We’re in the business of helping to ease the incidental or household bills while the family fights the disease. Blue Cross/Blue Shield doesn’t care if your lights are turned on.”

Tickets for the event are $15 in advance, Hutchinson said, and $20 at the door. Advance tickets are available at Blush, Southern Elegance or Then and Now Boutique. For more information, contact Carrie Hutchinson at (229) 344-4992.