Cari Minor suggested that her husband Ray Smith go see a doctor for a routine physical. The day his blood work came back was the day his journey with prostate cancer began. Through it all, Smith and Minor found a community at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital and were ready to give back through their music.
Smith and Minor met while attending the Song School before the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival in Lions nearly 25 years ago. They were working with other bands at the time when Minor heard Smith sing. She was drawn to his music and introduced herself. After that, the two began performing together and eventually fell in love and got married.
They later formed a band they called Strangebyrds.
Out of concern that Smith had not seen a doctor in a long time, Minor convinced him to go in for a routine check-up. When his blood work returned, the doctor noticed the prostate-specific antigen, of PSA, in his blood was extremely high.
Shortly after he was diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer and began exploring options for treatment. Smith opted for an aggressive treatment that few facilities have, he said. One is the UCHealth University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Minor and Smith live in Rollinsville, CO so the drive to and through Denver was long and stressful they said. And they began looking at other options.
The couple discovered that UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont had just opened a similar facility and was able to take on Smith’s care.
“We just felt seen,” Smith said.
“We were immediately connected to services there,” Minor said.
The services Minor is referring to include providing gas, food and hotel gift cards to patients so they do not worry about these things during treatment. They were also connected with groups that provided utility assistance and more, Minor said.
On Oct. 21, Strangebyrds is set to perform their newest album “Shrieking Violets” at E Town Hall in Boulder. Five dollars of each ticket will be donated to the UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital Foundation and will be earmarked for the same services the couple received. These dollars will help other families with food, gas, utilities and more while undergoing treatment.
Strangebyrds will focus on their latest album “Shrieking Violets” which includes songs the couple wrote through their cancer journey.
“We wanted to do that (give back) because the experience there was so positive and that really helped the situation and I don’t know how I would have felt anywhere else,” Smith said.
