CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — A local woman is looking to help those battling cancer. It's a fight she knows all too well.
Kate Backlas of Lancaster is a breast cancer survivor. She fought the illness alongside her mother, Nancy Beicke, who died in February after battling cancer for 35 years.
They were diagnosed in 2016. That same year they were invited to the "Today" show for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Six years later, Backlas is raising money through a garage sale to buy comfort kits for cancer patients at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. It raised more than $1,200 over two days.
It's something she knows her mom would have loved to do.
"Before she passed away, her goal was to volunteer at Roswell Park and do a project like this. Obviously she's not able to because she's not here anymore, so I want to carry on and do what she would have done," Backlas said.
Backlas says the comfort kits will include things like puzzles, books, lotions and blankets.
If you would like to help, the group has an Amazon wish list of items they still need.
The yard sale was Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Cheektowaga.