Survivor finds inspiration in World Cancer Day ride
Cancer survivor Cindy Faas has two aims on this day: to show others that if she can complete the 200- kilometre World Cancer Day ride, anyone can; and to show those current patients “they’re not alone.”
It was one of those perfect moments, a coincidental crossing of paths with the power to turn a life around.
“It was the first time I went out bald,” Cindy Faas says of that day in 2014 when, in the midst of chemotherapy treatment, she screwed up her courage to go to a shopping mall. “I was very self- conscious.” Just a few steps into the mall, she saw them: a group of cyclists going by the name One Aim Team, a regular fixture on the annual Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. When she saw the smiling riders on their stationary bikes in this most unlikely place, Faas was completely overwhelmed.
“They made me feel so much better,” the 37- year- old mother of two says. “I thanked them, and then I started to cry.”
Thursday morning, Faas is demonstrating the profound effect the chance meeting continues to have as she rides a stationary bike in the lobby of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.
“We didn’t even own bikes when we signed up,” she says of her and husband Phil’s decision last year to ride in the annual national fundraiser that brought in nearly $ 8 million from Albertans alone.
She has two aims on this day: to show others that if she can complete the 200- kilometre ride, anyone can; and to show those current patients “they’re not alone.”
Faas’ story is just one of countless stories being told Thursday as Calgarians and Canadians mark World Cancer Day.
With this year’s theme, We Can, I Can, the 16th annual World Cancer Day ( worldcancerday. org) has many goals, including: remembering and honouring those who have died from cancer; celebrating those stories of survival; and encouraging as many people as possible throughout the world to talk about everything from prevention and healthy lifestyles to simply creating more awareness about cancer, which will kill more than eight million people worldwide this year.
In Calgary, a wide variety of initiatives unfold over the course of the day and into the next. One of the highlights involves first- year medical students gathering at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine Friday morning to cut, shave or colour their hair for children with cancer, with a goal to raise $ 40,000 for Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta.
Sarah Hoffman, Alberta’s deputy premier and health minister, adds her voice to World Cancer Day, releasing a statement promoting prevention and research, as well as pledging that the province will do its part with infrastructure: “Our investment in the Calgary Cancer Centre will lead to better cancer care for patients from Calgary and neighbouring communities. Construction begins next year, and when the doors open in 2024, Calgary will have a new dedicated cancer centre.”
Also, a quantitative study was released Thursday in Edmonton showing that up to 45 per cent of new cancers in the province can be attributed to lifestyle and environmental factors, such as poor diet, smoking and physical inactivity.
In Toronto, Calgary has a starring role as it is announced that the U of C’s Dr. Samuel Weiss will be part of the next Stand Up to Cancer Dream Team. The team will receive $ 11.7 million from several organizations to research new approaches to brain cancers in children and adults, with a focus on the cancer stem cells that drive the growth of tumours.
For Faas, coming out for World Cancer Day is something she considers a duty but also a great privilege.
“I’m showing my kids that there are different ways to cope with life’s humps and bumps,” she says as she does her 20- minute ride, part of a 200- kilometre challenge being hosted by the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, Faas admits she fought through the despair by having parties marking everything from the start of her chemotherapy treatment to a farewell to her breasts, before undergoing a double mastectomy.
“Hearing about survivors, people doing amazing things,” says Faas, whose father died at age 35 from pancreatic cancer, “comforts me even today.”
Comforting others, she says, is her way of paying it forward.
“I wouldn’t call it a gift, but there have been way more good things that have come from it than bad,” she says of her nearly three- year cancer journey. “When people see me on my bike, they also see that there is life after a cancer diagnosis.”