MediCar and CancerCar keep Squamish medical rides running

For years, Charlie Harvey spent his spare time behind the wheel as a volunteer, driving Squamish residents to medical appointments in Vancouver and Whistler and using humour to ease long, stressful trips.

“I used to do a little stand up,” Harvey said. “By the time I got them to Vancouver, they forgot about all their problems.”

Last summer, Harvey found himself sitting in the passenger seat instead.

In July, Harvey was diagnosed with cancer. Without access to public transit and facing the cost of hotels, he realized the only practical way to reach his treatment appointments was the same volunteer-run service he had helped provide to others — CancerCar.

Operated under the Sea to Sky Hospice Society, CancerCar and its sister program, MediCar, provide free transportation for Squamish residents travelling to specialist medical appointments in Whistler or Vancouver.

CancerCar was created after a similar transportation service operated by the Canadian Cancer Society was discontinued. Grace Halverson, who volunteered with the former program, said she couldn’t bear to see patients left without options.

With local community support, Halverson helped launch CancerCar to ensure Squamish cancer patients could continue travelling to appointments in Vancouver. The program later expanded to include MediCar, which serves non-cancer patients, thanks to a grant from the Rotary Club.

“The heart and soul of this whole program is really the community members,” said Grace Halverson, the program’s coordinator.

Among the most active volunteers is Conrad Lum, who completed more than 75 trips in 2025. Lum has volunteered since 2019, after retiring from a 30-year teaching career in Squamish. He typically drives to Vancouver at least once a week — sometimes as many as three or four times.

“It provides me with an opportunity to give back,” Lum said in a phone call while waiting to pick up a client. He said volunteering allows him to help “make somebody’s life more comfortable, extend their life, or even contribute, as little as it may be, to saving their life.”

In 2025 alone, MediCar and CancerCar supported a combined 123 Squamish residents across 610 trips. That work was carried out by 28 volunteer drivers and six volunteer dispatchers who coordinate schedules between drivers and clients.

Despite missing almost half the year while undergoing 35 days of radiation and chemotherapy, Harvey still ranked among the program’s top volunteer drivers. He is now cancer-free, hoping to return to volunteering soon.

Last year, the program spent $51,382 reimbursing volunteer drivers for mileage. Doug Hackett, a longtime volunteer driver and IT support volunteer, said that community donations alone are no longer enough to sustain the service. He added that dependable funding support from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional Hospital District is necessary for the program’s long term success.

Individual donations can be made to the Sea to Sky Hospice Society, specifying funding for Squamish Volunteer Drivers directly.

Many community members have volunteered as drivers or dispatchers over the years. The 2025 Squamish Volunteer Drivers who made the program possible are: Allan Rutherford, Brian Burba, Carl Walker, Celine Cantin, Charlie Harvey, Conrad Lum, Cory Daniel, Danna Hinderle, David Giesbrecht, Debra Hughson, Diana Geller, Doug Hackett, Geraldine Guilfoyle, Heather Hedberg, James Sims, Janet Boa, Jeff Stewart, Larry Wiltshire, Mairi Blair, Paul Borchert, Peter Blair, Rick Babuin, Rick Brzesowski, Robert Otto, Robert Thoren, Stan Thomson, Terra Gaddes, Ursula Schulze and Wilf Grolman.

The 2025 volunteer dispatchers are: Kim Voelker, Mary Larcombe, Carey Green, Elizabeth Kerr, Hilary Fisher, Pat Payne and Debbie Hughson.