SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and two local organizations have formed an unusual partnership with the goal of better caring for Siouxland cancer patients.

Wilson Trailer approached the June E. Nylen Cancer Center with the idea of “Block-out Cancer.” People would donate to cover punch holes in a livestock trailer at their company headquarters. There are 150 large punches and 1,300 small punches in a livestock trailer, which help airflow during the summer.

“Our goal is to fill every single one of them with a pink block-out plug and that would raise 31,000 dollars for the cancer center,” Tiffany Persinger, the Vice President of Wilson Trailer said. “In addition, Wilson Trailer is going to match all of the donations, so if we can reach our goal of blocking out this trailer, we’ll bring in 62,000 dollars

“Wilson Trailer is doing this in October, so it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One out of eight women is actually diagnosed with breast cancer,” Christie Finnegan, the Marketing & Fund Development Manager at June E. Nylen Cancer Center said. “We know in our region, we’re actually behind the state average on getting screened. So as much as we think there is awareness out there about breast cancer, we still have a job to do and work to do in this community.”

All proceeds will go towards the expansion and renovation at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. The center serves cancer patients from 15 counties in the tri-state area. The project will expand two behind-the-scenes areas of the facility, the infusion mixing room and the medically integrated dispensary. According to an official with the cancer center, the use of oral cancer treatments and immunotherapy has outgrown their current.

“Right now our greatest need is we need to expand and renovate where we mix all the chemo, all that prep area for our infusions and our oral dispensary that over the last five years has grown over 242 percent,” Finnegan said.”It’s a 1.5 million dollar project to renovate and expand those two behind-the-scenes areas. But those areas are critical to what we do to take care of patients.”

The goal is to raise $31,000, with Wilson Trailer set to match donations. The fundraiser runs until the end of the month, and people can donate at this link.