EDMONTON -- A local family is hoping comedy will be part of the cure to cancer.
An online show featuring seven comedians from across Canada and beyond is being held to benefit a Vegreville, Alta., mom of three battling cancer.
Courtney Yakimetz was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2019 when she was 29 years old. After surgery and chemotherapy, she was briefly declared cancer free -- until a diagnosis in September 2020 when she was 28 weeks pregnant.
"This time it was triple negative breast cancer, so it's totally a different cancer than what she had the first time. And it unfortunately usually is harder to treat," recalled her sister Kendall Crowle.
Yakimetz couldn't start chemo until her daughter, Genevieve, was born in November. Within two months, doctors had discovered the cancer had spread to her lungs and diagnosed her as Stage 4.
"So she started to research and look for other options, because here, surgery isn't an option either," Crowle said.
Yakimetz found a clinic in Mexico that offers a treatment unavailable in Canada. Thanks to a round of fundraising online, she is returning to Alberta after receiving a 21-day treatment there.
All of the money raised during by the show will be used to cover the costs of her treatment.
"It's a really strong comedy show, but because everybody's donating their time, we figured we'd keep the price low," Yakimetz' brother-in-law and stand-up-comedian Ben Proulx said of the $10 tickets. "Hopefully as many people can attend as possible and get some comedy out of it as well."
The list of seven headliners includes Sophia Johnson, from Netflix's Ash vs the Evil Dead; Just For Laughs performer Chris Gordon; Calgarian Brittany Lyseng; and Alex Fortin, who is no stranger to the Okanagan and Edmonton comedy festivals.
"There's some great comics on there, so we lucked out," Proulx, who will host, said.
"I'm actually funny despite not being funny right now, so don't let this fool you."
Tickets for Comedy for Courtney on March 19 are available online.
