Fundraiser set to help cancer victim

Kathy Bilger is well known around Havre.

Over the years, she has waited on people at 4Bs Restaurant, provided needs for seniors at Northern Montana Care Center and served folks at Town Pump

She is known for her friendly manner.

Now the community is waiting on her.

She has been diagnosed with liver cancer, and family and friends have organized a fundraiser at Pizza Hut to help pay the many expenses.

When people buy any food from Pizza Hut today - call-in, takeout or pick-up - they should tell the server they want Kathy Gamble Bilger to get 20 percent of the proceeds.

Misty Swenson, whose father is married to Kathy, recalls the date - Dec. 6, 2013 - when she went to visit her father.

Kathy was in excruciating pain. She finally went to the emergency room at Northern Montana Hospital.

After they did a batch of tests, they discovered ovarian cancer.

She underwent chemotherapy, and for a while, things started to improve.

But when she once again started feeling pain, doctors confirmed their worst fear. The cancer had attacked her liver.

It's been tough on her, Misty said, but people wouldn't know that from talking to her.

She remains upbeat, Misty said.

Misty said her father has COPD. They live in a second-floor apartment and have a hard time getting up and down the stairs.

Kathy has had trouble with chemotherapy. It leaves her skin beet red.

Because of her allergies to chemotherapy, doctors give her smaller doses, but that means the sessions last a lot longer. She underwent 15 hours straight in one stretch.

All of this hasn't put a dent in Kathy's determination, Misty said.

"She's a fighter, that's for sure," Misty said.