Donor Stories

Breast cancer survivor organizes community dinner and raises $15,000 for breast cancer research

Surjit Tumber BC Cancer Foundation donor and cancer survivor.

She’s the mother of two active kids and works full-time as an office manager in a Surrey medical clinic, but after a year of grueling treatment for breast cancer, Surjit Tumber decided to throw a dinner party – for 500 people!

“When I first discovered I had cancer in 2006, I thought, ‘Why me?’” says the 39-year-old long-time Surrey resident. “But then I started to realize that many of the treatments helping me to recover exist because people have donated money to research. So I started thinking, ‘What can I do to give back?’ I didn’t know where to start. I just knew I had to do something.”

Since one of her favourite activities is socializing with friends, Surjit decided to hold a fundraising dinner dance and invite the families in her community. Getting her husband Vinay on board was the first step. “Surjit had been through hell and back and I wasn’t sure she was ready to take on the challenge,” says Vinay, who was introduced to his British-born and-raised wife 18 years ago by an uncle living in Saskatchewan. “But she was determined.” Vinay became Surjit’s right-hand man, helping with every detail, from booking the banquet hall to printing the programs. Their friends, and even the couple’s two children, 16-year-old Amit and 12-year old Manisha, volunteered to help. “We weren’t sure if anyone would come,” Vinay says, “but our family and friends were incredibly supportive. They sold tickets, helped us find amazing raffle prizes and even lined up local Bhangra dance groups for the entertainment.” Their collective efforts snowballed and Surjit’s first-ever fundraiser went off without a hitch at the Bombay Banquet Hall in Surrey on October 26th, 2007, just two short months after she first conceived the idea.

“We felt that the event’s name, Unite to End Cancer, was appropriate – it’s a disease that entire families and the whole community have to deal with,” says Surjit. “But we also wanted everyone to eat well and have fun.”

The sold-out event featured talks by Penny Priddy, MP for Surrey North, and Dr. Frances Wong, chief oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency’s Fraser Valley Centre. Among the 500 guests were oncology nurses and staff from the Agency’s Fraser Valley Centre, many of whom Surjit came to know and appreciate during her treatment. “My doctors and nurses were all incredible. They inspired me to raise the money,” she said.

“Every person in that room was somehow connected to Surjit, which I thought was amazing, considering the number of attendees,” commented Dr. Satinder Sanghe, Surjit’s physician and friend. “This just shows what a wonderful person she is. The event itself was very energetic and lively. Surjit showed such enthusiasm because she truly believes that helping others avoid what she went through is completely worth it.” “Unite to End Cancer was one of the most inspiring fundraisers I have ever attended,” said MP Penny Priddy, who is also a breast cancer survivor. “The fact that someone who just completed chemotherapy could pull together such an amazing event is nothing short of courageous and admirable.” Surjit and Vinay later presented a cheque for $15,568 to the BC Cancer Foundation, which will help support a new breast health initiative at the Agency’s Fraser Valley Centre. They hope to hold a fundraiser every two years, but they are extremely modest about their achievement and prefer to avoid the publicity limelight. “It wasn’t important to us that people knew we organized the fundraiser. We wanted to stay in the background,” said Surjit, who even shied away from speaking at the event. “But if our story inspires someone else to do something good, then we’re happy to tell it.”

If you’d like to support research and care at the BC Cancer Agency’s Fraser Valley Centre, please contact Kate Ludlam at kludlam@bccancer.bc.ca or 604.707.5900 ext. 4960 or toll free 1.866.232.9974.