Local Stage and Screen Icon in Dire Need of Your Help

Babz Chula, beloved Grande Dame of West Coast stage and screen, has been fighting an ongoing battle with cancer for years, and has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. Dubbed “the Queen of the Indies”, Babz grew up and started her career in New York, and has been a fixture in the Vancouver independent film and theatre scene for years, as well as being a long-time mentor to young artists and a constant volunteer with many charity causes. She had been winning the battle with two separate cancers, but recently one of them has moved into her liver, and has become agressive. You can read about it and her thoughts on what she’s going through in Babz’ own words here. Please do. It’s astonishingly heroic.

Some friends have organized an effort to help pay for her quickly mounting medical bills, and have made an urgent appeal for help to the arts community. From a letter sent out this week:

Our very good friend, beloved ( I could go on here, talented, eloquent, hilarious, infinitely courageous) Canadian actress Babz Chula has recently been diagnosed with her third cancer…we found out just weeks ago that cancer has again reappeared – this time metastacizing into her liver. At the strong insistence of both her oncologist and her naturopath, she is embarking on both chemo and some other incredibly promising treatments – but unfortunately, due to the testing stage that some of these treatments are in, they are not yet funded by our standard Canadian health plan. That said, we are doing what anyone would do if their friend needed such help – we’re trying to fund it.

They have started the Babz Chula Lifeline for Artists Society, which is a registered non-profit created to raise money for her treatment, and to raise awareness of the disease. Click here to read more about it, and to donate if you are able. You will also find a link to the Society’s online auction list, you won’t believe who’s putting up dinner dates on the auction block.

And please pass this link on to your address lists, it really is a matter of life or death.