Hundreds rev up at Ride for Dad to highlight prostate cancer fight
Ian Bentley’s love of riding motorcycles started years before his battle with prostate cancer began.
After his diagnosis, his passion for his motorbike merged with a determination to raise awareness for prostate cancer.
“Most people, I’ll bet you, know somebody who’s had it, a relative or a friend,” said Bentley. “It doesn’t pick and choose who gets it.”
On Sunday, around 600 motorcyclists started their motors and took part in a Telus Ride for Dad to support prostate cancer research and awareness at Windsor’s Festival Plaza.
Since the Windsor Telus Motorcycle Ride for Dad’s inception over a decade ago, riders in the Windsor-Essex region have raised over $600,000, according to event chair Shane Miles.
Bentley began riding in 2007. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years later.
He vividly remembers the moment his doctor told him he had cancer.
“He was talking to me and I don’t hear a thing,” Bentley said. “It’s just going over my head. I sat there for about five minutes, trying to weigh what he’s just told me.”
Bentley was presented with several treatment options. Prostate cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation (including the common brachytherapy, a type of internal radiation treatment), hormonal therapy or chemotherapy, among other paths.
In November 2009, Bentley successfully underwent the Da Vinci robotics prostate cancer treatment — seven months after treatment options were presented to him.
“I had the whole summer for it to play in my head,” Bentley said.
Bentley said riding his bike turned into a kind of therapy.
“That’s one thing about the bike. You get on the bike — (it’s) a great stress reliever. You’ve got a nice sunny day, you’ve got the wind blowing, get the tunes going and you just don’t think about nothing.”
Bentley said he had the entire summer of ’09 to grapple with his diagnosis.
“You wake up every morning and bang, it’s the first thing in your head. You go to bed at night, it’s the last thing you think about.”
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men, with one in seven being affected. Ride for Dad organizers say early detection is key.
A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test can screen for prostate cancer, which Bentley said he encourages men over 50 to get.
“You hear the C-word, it’s like, I’m dead, you know?” Bentley said. “And that’s not necessarily so. The sooner you can get this — get tested and catch it — your chances of a cure are almost 100 per cent. So the sooner guys take the time to go get the test done, the better off you’re going to be.”
Two years ago, Bentley and two friends rode their motorcycles to California. It was an experience to check off his bucket list, he said — and something his battle with prostate cancer didn’t prevent.
“Just get tested,” he said. “It’s your life. You want to live it as long as you can.”
The sooner you can get this — get tested and catch it — your chances of a cure are almost 100 per cent.