On April 12th, 2020, the 40th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, Team Giver and I will begin a commitment to cover 8,000 kms across Canada cycling, running, swimming and walking on Strava to fund raise for cancer research.
The Motivation
On April 9th we learned that the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer is postponed until next year due to CoVid-19.
The Ride has been the single largest fundraiser annually in support of cancer research, clinical trials, prevention and care in Alberta for 11 years, and the need continues. I’ve spent the last couple days wondering what I can do to help.
One thing is certain…without the critical funding that the Ride and countless events like it provides lives will be lost. If you are able to, amid all this upheaval, and if you still want to support the work of the Alberta Cancer Foundation, please join Team Giver and fund raise alongside me for this cause that affects us all.
Whether through cancer research or clinical trials, the work that the ACF does here in Alberta benefits everyone around the world. If you want to create a Give’r Ride to support your local foundation where you are let’s do that too! Join Team Giver on Facebook hit me up and we’ll create a new fundraising page.
If you aren’t a rider, or a runner, but want to continue to support, please consider a donation through the Give’r Project here:
100% of your donation will go to the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
How far we’ve come
On October 11, 2020 I will celebrate 15 years as a cancer survivor. 2020 is our 14th straight year fundraising and riding so that others diagnosed with cancer might be saved the way I was. Along the way we’ve raised over $96,800 together, and our teams have now raised over $638,000. This is all because of your generosity, and your belief in the cause.
Team Give’r Across Canada
On April 12th, 2020, the 40th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, Team Give’r and I will begin a commitment to cover 8,000 km cycling, running, swimming and walking on Strava…in 365 days…all over Canada. Many of you will know that this was the planned distance of Terry’s cross-Canada odyssey beginning in 1980…cut short by lung cancer.
This will be a challenge in a number of ways…not least of which that I’ve personally never done anything like this before. The challenge is nothing beside the trials that Canadians facing cancer and their families go through every day. With your generosity, important breakthroughs will continue to be made in the pursuit of cures and treatments for cancer.
Toward a World Free from Cancer
As an advocate for the cancer community I’ve said countless times that our goal is “to see a world free from cancer in my lifetime”. I’m 52. From everything I have seen and heard I am convinced we are only 10 short years away from the reality of a world free from cancer…when the overwhelming majority of cases cancer will be curable.
My Story
I was diagnosed with testicular cancer on October of 2005…a diagnosis that only 40 years ago would have been a certain death sentence. Luckily there is more to my story. Because of private funding for cancer research testicular cancer is now curable in over 80% of cases.
After successful surgery and a clean CT scan we opted for regular surveillance – blood tests, x-rays and scans – in the hope of avoiding further treatment. Christmas of 2006 brought the unhappy news of enlarged lymph nodes in my abdomen, confirming that the cancer had spread. I was prescribed a 9-week course of chemotherapy after a panel of experts reviewed the results of 2 scans. The treatment was life threatening in itself, with frightening side effects, but I emerged in April battered but with a clean bill of health. Victory.
Having been through diagnosis, surgery, surveillance and chemotherapy I can say from experience how extraordinary our cancer control system is in Canada. My survival is a testament to how important ongoing cancer research is. Cancer research quite literally saved my life.
If you want to join Team Give’r and support either the ACF or your own local provincial foundation, like Team Giver on Facebook and hit me up. Our goal is for Team Give’r to spread wherever it can until we finally see a World Free From Cancer.
Follow our progress on Instagram: @Andrew_Gregory and on Twitter: @Andrew_Gregory @teamgiver
Thanks for reading!
