| | What is the Paula's Purse Cancer Care Fund?
Help fill Paula’s Purse and make a difference in cancer patients’ lives
When patients are going through treatment for cancer, finances can get tight. Some patients struggle to pay for basic necessities like food, heat and gas, causing another worry when they already have so many. Paula’s Purse—a collaboration between Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, the Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders and the Norma J. Vinger Center for Breast Care—is a new fund created with these patients in mind.
 “There are very limited resources available to help patients who need something as simple as money to buy groceries. This is a tremendous stressor of patients and their families and we want to change that,” says Gayle Jago, clinical manager, Center for Breast Care. “Many of our physicians and staff have been known to open up their own ‘purses’ to help these patients. In this season of giving, we’re asking you to do the same.”
You can contribute to the fund any time and various fundraisers will be held throughout the year. The money raised for the fund will be distributed to cancer patients and their families who need help buying basic necessities.
Gayle knows from personal experience what a difference a small donation can make to a family. Prior to her joining Gundersen Lutheran, Gayle and her family went through their own battle with cancer when her husband, Tim, was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma. He was given only six months to two years to live.
“When he was going through his treatment, we had to close our resort business because he was unable to work, and we needed the health insurance my job provided,” Gayle remembers. “One day a radiologist I worked with came into my office, put a check for $500 on my desk and said, ‘Go home. I paid your salary. You need to be with your family.’ I’m happy to say Tim recently got a clean bill of health, and we’ve never forgotten the kindness of that radiologist. We’ve tried to pay that $500 forward many times to help others dealing with the ‘life issues’ surrounding a battle with cancer.”
She went on to say, “Paula’s Purse is one of the coolest things I’ve ever been involved with. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be part of the work surrounding this fund. It will mean more to our patients than you can ever imagine.”
 The meaning behind ‘Paula’s Purse’
Paula’s Purse has special meaning to those working in the Norma J. Vinger Center for Breast Care. The fund is named after Paula Tower. Paula was a Gundersen Lutheran mammography technologist who worked in the Center for Breast Care for more than 16 years. Paula lost her battle with cancer earlier this year, but she will never be forgotten by those whose lives she touched. “We want to make sure her sparkle lives on. She would have been so excited to work on this project, and it’s very appropriate that the fund is being named after her,” Gayle says.
To help fill Paula’s Purse:
- Donate online. Visit “Make a Gift” and designate Paula’s Purse.
- Mail a donation to: Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, 1836 South Ave., La Crosse, WI 54601. Make checks payable to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation and indicate Paula’s Purse in the check memo.
- Contribute to a Paula’s Purse fundraiser.
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