22
MetroVanIndependent.com
July 2015
lifestyle
The Ride to Conquer Cancer
“Ideation without execution is simply delusion” - Robin Sharma
By Christine Adela White
The Ride to Conquer Cancer is a 240
KM charity bike ride from Vancouver
to Seattle, benefiting the BC Cancer
Foundation.
Many of us have seen the televised ads
and know somewhat of what the journey
consists of (cyclists fundraising for cancer
research), but the actual experience
of being in The Ride and crossing the
finish line is like no other feeling, no other
experience that an ad can convey.
You hear your fellow cyclists beside
Christine Adela White.
You remember why you are
cycling, and in memory of whom.
Your fellow cyclists are also
grieving; they have lost a parent,
a sibling, a spouse, a child.
you – the swishing of wheels spinning
in unison, creating a polyphonic song of
determination and perseverance, almost
meditative. You remember why you are
cycling, and in memory of whom. Your
fellow cyclists are also grieving; they
have lost a parent, a sibling, a spouse, a
child. Your fellow cyclists are also cancer
survivors, marked by yellow flags on their
bike, and you cannot help but feel humbled
and proud to be in their presence.
Just when you feel another 25KM to
the next pit-stop is unbearable, you see
that yellow flag and you trek on knowing
their struggle and their triumph of beating
the disease. All these cyclists have been
touched by cancer in some form or another,
and here they are, with you, fighting
alongside for the sake of others in hopes
of seeing a cancer-free world.
This is a silent camaraderie. This is
a crusade to end cancer: The Ride to
Conquer Cancer.
The loss of a loved one is always
difficult: you question 'why' and wonder 'if.'
Time prepares us for chronological events:
with the loss of a spouse, you become a
widow; with the loss of parents at young
age, you are an orphan.
Christine Adela White cycles in memory of her sister Laura who passed away at age 15 in 2002.
But what do you call a mother or father
who loses a child? There is no word in our
vocabulary. The death of a child is out of
chronological order, so you could imagine
how confusing and how difficult it was for
my mother and father when my little sister
died. I had to be strong for them, being
the eldest daughter. There was no choice.
August 29th-30th will mark my fifth year
cycling down to Seattle.
I cycle in memory of my sister Laura
who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid
Leukemia at age 15 in 2002 and passed
three weeks shortly after diagnosis.
I cycle for innovative treatment and
research. Laura was in remission and had
beat the disease, but the toxicity of the
treatment was too much for her to bear.
Her heart failed.
Today, ca nce r re sea rche r s a re
exploring lower dose toxicity in childcancer treatment. Despite Laura beating
the odds at a 11 percent “c W&R&FR