BENEFIT TO HELP CANCER PATIENTS GET CARE LOCALLY.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

VALENCIA - As she was undergoing treatment for terminal cancer, Pat Foley-La Mont said it was the drive to Westwood that often weighed heavily in her thoughts.

The journey from Santa Clarita to UCLA was difficult, she knew, for those battling the disease, and was something she hoped to change through her Cancer Care Foundation Inc.

``You don't even feel well enough to do it,'' she said. ``I thought if I was ever going to do anything, it was for the Santa Claritans. That was the niche that I felt was unaddressed.''

On Saturday, the organization will host a fund-raiser as it continues toward its $100,000 goal to bring additional cancer services to the Santa Clarita Valley.

The organization, a fund-raising arm of UCLA/Santa Clarita Valley Cancer Center, is helping to finance a proposed high-risk clinic scheduled to open in March at the facility.

The free clinic, planned to open in March at the facility, would provide a central place where locals could learn more about the disease.

Dr. John Barstis, director of the UCLA/Santa Clarita Valley Cancer Center, said the clinic - modeled after one operating at the University of California, Los Angeles - could help residents determine whether they are at high risk for certain cancers, such as ovarian or breast cancer.

Barstis said residents could then learn about about preventive measures - from tests to diet.

``That's part of the idea, anybody who's concerned they're high-risk can be given good information,'' he said.

``It's something that the community is now big enough it would benefit from.''

Plans are still in the making, but Foley-La Mont envisions a center staffed three days a week with a doctor, and four days with a nurse.

Visitors could be served in person, or over the telephone, organizers said.

``I think there's a lot of people who would take advantage of it,'' she said. ``Had I known about it before I got cancer I would have taken advantage of it.''

Foley-La Mont estimates it could take $100,000 to set up and fund the first year, and up to $100,000 annually in operation costs, though plans are still being drawn.

The group also hopes to put its fund-raising to work providing other cancer-related services.

She said the organization hopes to raise up to $10,000 from the weekend event to help reach its fund-raising goal.

Saturday's event at the Edwards IMAX Theater in the Valencia Town Center will offer chances to win more than 275 gift certificates from local restaurants, stores and services, with proceeds going to the organization's work.

Raffle tickets range from $2 each to $10 for as many as the length of an arm and $20 for tickets stretching the length of a body.

Foley-La Mont said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995, and eventually with lymph node, bone and liver cancer and was given six weeks to six months to live.

The insurance agent said she started the foundation in 1999 because the care she received was something she wanted to benefit others in the community.

``I just wanted to pay back. My way of paying back is to do it locally,'' she said.

The event is scheduled for 4-9 p.m. at the Edwards IMAX Theater in the Valencia Town Center.

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Photo:

(color) Edwards Cinema worker Michael Navarro helps Cancer Care foundation founder Pat Foley-La Mont prepare for a fund-raiser Saturday at the Edwards IMAX.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News