Quilts For a Cure

These quilts are more than works of art: they have all been donated to help raise money for breast cancer treatment and research.

Liz Madison with Sutter Health said more than 500 quilts are a part of this year's fundraiser. "The auction has been held every three years since 1999," said Madison. "Since that time we've raised nearly $300,000."

Some of the quilts have been donated by breast cancer survivors, others were donated in memory of a loved one who was lost to breast cancer.

Gloria Schroeter of Sacramento donated her quilt in memory of her friend Laura Kehoe. "She was just a wonderful person, an amazing spirit," said Schroeter. "She just really had an impact on my life and everyone that knew her."

Schroeter and Kehoe met during a girls' weekend getaway to Mendocino in 1994. "We clicked right away," said Schroeter. "She was such a talented artist, and I told her that I wanted to take a quilting class."

Schroeter put off her plans to take that class. "I was just so busy," she said.

In 1995 Kehoe was diagnosed with breast cancer. But she returned to Mendocino for the girls' weekend. "She had gone through chemotherapy and had surgery and she still came back to Mendocino," said Schroeter. "The prognosis was not real good and she was still forging ahead. She wasn't letting that stop her."

Schroeter still had not taken that quilting class. "She (Kehoe) was so determined to the end and I thought if she can do that I have got to get off of my butt and go take a quilting class," said Schroeter. "She encouraged me to do that and so I did. I fell in love with it and finished my first quilt the night before she died."

Kehoe was 37 in February of 1997 when she lost her fight with cancer. She left behind a husband and two children. "She was such an inspiration to me," said Gloria.

Every quilt hanging at the Sutter Cancer Center holds a similar story. They are all stitched with love and donated with the hope of finding a cure.

"Breast cancer affects a lot of people and has taken a lot of lives of some really special people like Laura," said Schroeter. "I think we need to keep fighting and find that cure."

The quilts will be on display and up for silent auction at the Sutter Cancer Center until the end of October. On November 1, a live auction will be held for some specially selected quilts.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 182,460 women in the United States will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2008. About 40,480 women will die from the disease this year.

"That's what it's all about," said Schroeter. "Finding a cure so we don't lose people like Laura."