Cancer survivor raising funds for HopeSpring support centre

WATERLOO — Exercise and the HopeSpring Cancer Support centre helped get Shuchanna Swaby through breast cancer.

It’s only fitting she’ll tap into her new-found athletic prowess to raise funds at a triathlon on Saturday to help get the charitable organization back on track.

“HopeSpring has given me so much in my life,” said Swaby, who took over as board chair in April.

“While my doctors gave me my health back, HopeSpring gave me my life back.”

This has been a year of tumult and change for HopeSpring.

In late January, HopeSpring announced it would be closing at the end of March due to difficulty raising the funds needed to operate, about $500,000 annually.

The organization, founded in 1995 by two local residents, relies entirely on donations.

An outpouring of support from the community kept the doors open, raising enough money to fund operations for this year.

This week, HopeSpring is moving from its leased Andrew Street office in Kitchener to the Inn of Waterloo on King Street, just off the expressway.

“That really puts us on the path toward sustainability,” said Swaby, calling the move “a blessing.”

The next step is developing a robust fundraising strategy. The triathlon Swaby is doing with five friends this weekend at Guelph Lake is helping to kick off that fundraising effort. So far, they’ve raised about $10,000.

“We’re always welcoming donations for HopeSpring. This is just one campaign that we’re doing,” she said.

This will be the second triathlon at Guelph Lake for Swaby. The Cambridge lawyer credits HopeSpring for giving her the confidence to try a triathlon, especially considering she couldn’t swim or run. She worked with trainers to get better at both.

Getting active helped with her recovery from cancer.

“One of the few things that got me through the cancer treatment was exercise,” Swaby said.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2012 when she was 42. Surgery was followed by chemotherapy and radiation for the next year.

That’s when she discovered HopeSpring and started using its services and programs.

Along with gentle exercise classes, she got a lot out of the one-on-one counselling with a cancer care coach and the better sleep program for both her and her husband.

Without HopeSpring, she said: “I wouldn’t have come through my cancer experience as positively.”

You can donate to Swaby’s fundraiser by going to canadahelps.org and searching for HopeSpring; there’s a separate tab on that page for the triathlon.