Cancer isn’t easy for anyone to deal with, but for one Utah family, charitable musicians and a caring community are helping to lighten the burden.

A 9-year-old girl named Hannah Laursen from Orem and her family received dire news a few months ago when doctors told them she had a brain tumor.

Since then, Hannah has undergone surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
The good news is the family has received a lot of support from charities, the community and musicians.

JR Richards is best known as the lead singer of the band Dishwalla and is also a solo artist. Richards coordinated with Neil Warner, president of the Second Chance Foundation of Utah, to hold a benefit concert to raise funds for Hannah.

Alongside JR Richards, Melody Pulsipher and Tyler Forsberg, local artists who call themselves “Melody with Tyler Forsberg,” will be donating not only their time and talents to the Laursen family but also all the proceeds of CD sales for the day.

Richards gave The Daily Universe permission to use a song he wrote, inspired by the death of his friend’s daughter from cancer, called “A Beautiful End.”  The song is part of the audio slide show portion of this story online at universe.byu.edu.

Warner expressed amazement at the charity demonstrated by the musicians and said of Melody with Tyler Forsberg, “They have really stepped up to the plate.”

Musicians who help others are not uncommon, and they aim to inspire others to do the same.
“Make a difference now,” Warner wrote on the Second Chance Web site. “No donation of time or resources is too small. Please help us make it happen for someone else.”

An interesting fact is that none of the artists have ever met the Laursens.

“It doesn’t take knowing someone to know that help is needed,” Forsberg said. “[We are] blessed to be musically talented, and we want to share. We think that it’s the least we can do. If we can sell CDs and then donate the proceeds, everybody wins.”

Hannah’s parents, Craig and Leigh, were surprised by the outpouring of love and support.

“All through her chemotherapy and radiation, people have just kept asking what they can do, and how they can help,” Craig said. “It’s been awesome.”