In a bid to help local stage and indie-film veteran Babz Chula in her battle against cancer, her close friends in the industry have created the Babz Chula Lifeline for Artists Society. Their first annual BABZ fundraiser takes place November 6 at the Caprice. The event, hosted by Terry David Mulligan, will feature performances by the Wet Spots and Jim Byrnes, among others.

Chula is battling a recurrence of breast cancer that has spread to her liver, in addition to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She was recently forced to abandon chemotherapy due to a serious reaction, and after two years of treatment the B.C. Cancer Agency is no longer covering the cost of Rituxan, a drug that was keeping her lymphoma in check.

"It's expensive to live with cancer," Chula told the Straight. "It costs me $4,000 for this one treatment [Rituxan] every three months.”¦The supplements I take are probably $500 or $600 a month."

Patricia Cullen, a local actress and chair of the artists' society, said her group is focused on helping Chula right now, but later, in accordance with Chula's wishes, "it will be about supporting the artists in the community”¦that find themselves in similar circumstances where the treatments they require aren't covered by MSP."