by Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 24/97) - What started as an idea among Stanton Regional Hospital staff less than a month ago has turned into a healthy sum in the drive for a new mammography machine.

Saturday night's multicultural dinner and auction raised about $10,000, topping the $7,000 target set by organizers.

The dinner auction was hosted by the hospital's admitting department and language and cultural services department. About 140 people attended.

Among the most sought-after auction items was Graeme Shaw's original oil painting, A Cold Day in Rae. Bidding for the painting closed at $1,025. The auctioneer was Tony Whitford.

To date, fundraising and pledges make up a substantial portion of the $150,000 goal.

Next month's Run for the Cure will bring the goal even closer, Stanton development manager Carol Walsh said.

The target could be reached this spring, she said.

The hospital is looking to replace its current mammography machine, installed in 1987.

Stanton mammography technologist Michelle Weinberger said the machine is from the 1970s with a life expectancy of eight years.

Though it produces quality mammograms (breast X-rays), "we are hoping to purchase the latest technology," she said.

Weinberger was among those who spoke at the event. Another was breast cancer survivor Meryl Falconer.

Falconer is often asked to meet with women diagnosed with the disease.

She said she has recently become aware of many people diagnosed with the disease.

When a person is diagnosed with breast cancer, they often feel it is a death sentence, but if they meet a survivor, then there is hope, she added.