Quality of Life

WHEN TWO EMPLOYEES OF Aspenites Barbara and Bruce Berger were stricken with cancer, the financial burden of traveling for regular therapy became immediately apparent. “They couldn’t afford the gas money for weeks of radiation in Edwards,” Barbara recalls. “We supported them, of course, but we saw a real need to help people cover the secondary costs associated with cancer treatment and lost wages.”

To help others in similar situations, the Bergers founded the Quality of Life Cancer Fund in 2007. Over the last decade, the couple has hosted an annual fundraising dinner in the garden of their West End residence, raising more than $1.5 million for the charity. Working with local hospitals and oncologists to screen applicants, Quality of Life has assisted an estimated 500 cancer patients in the Roaring Fork Valley.