August 18, 2015

www.nanaimobulletin.com

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Nanaimo News Bulletin W1

Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock TourdeRock.ca • Sept 19 – Oct 2, 2015

Why we ride…

W2

Nanaimo News Bulletin Tuesday, August 18, 2015

www.nanaimobulletin.com

www.nanaimobulletin.com

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Nanaimo News Bulletin W3

Events Calendar UPCOMING TOUR DE ROCK FUNDRAISING EVENTS

SOUTH ISLAND

Good Times Dance in Sooke Friday, August 28 • 7:30 p.m. – 1 a.m.

Dance the night away while enjoying the music of Phoenix.

Tickets, $10 at Shoppers Drug Mart and Peoples Drug Store in Sooke. For more info tour.de.rock.michael@hotmail.com or call 250-886-2125.

Tour de Rock Fishing Derby at Pedder Bay Marina Sunday, August 30 Prizes for largest fish & mystery weight! $50/rod (includes BBQ). Launch fee by donation. Rental boats & equipment available. Join us for just the BBQ for $15! Info & tickets: nbrame@shaw.ca or 250-920-6450.

What is the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock?

Tour de Rock Red Serge Dinner in Shawnigan Wednesday, September 16 • Cocktails at 6pm, Dinner at 7pm

Junior Riders: Our Heroes

T

he simplest answer is that it’s a two-week bicycle journey in which a team of police officers YOUNG CANCER FIGHTERS MOTIVATE ride more than 1,000 kilometres from the north end of Vancouver Island to the south, the police cars. raising money to fight childhood cancer. ou don’t have to search hard to “He loved the attention that was given Since 1998, Tour de Rock has raised discover what motivates the Tour more than $20 million for the Canadian to him by the police officers, his riders. We de Rock team to pedal 1000Cancer Society, which uses the money think that he knew he was playing a role in plus kilometres. to fund pediatric cancer research and the fight against cancer,” Julia Taylor says of Taped to the handlebars of their programs. her son Rene. “At the same time, he really bikes or etched into each rider’s mind The story goes back to 1994, when a enjoyed building these relationships and you’ll find the faces of the brave group of Edmonton police officers shaved the encouragement that he got from the members of the Junior Rider team. their heads in support of a boy who had lost officers.”

Each one is a child with a history of his hair to chemotherapy. By 1997, the Cops cancer – some are currently fighting for Cancer head shaves had reached Victoria. the disease, some are in remission, The local police wanted to try something and some have unfortunately He loved the attention bigger. A brainstorming session between the recently lost their battle – and each cops and the Canadian Cancer Society led to the that was given to him one is a reminder that our work suggestion of a bike ride the length of the Island. isn’t anywhere near complete. by the police officers, And the rest is history.

Rene Soto-Taylor and A new team is picked every year. This year’s his riders. ” Lucas Wetklo are two Junior team is made up of 20 police officers and one Riders who fall into the last member of the media. The sacrifices demanded of That enjoyment is certainly a two-way category. Both young boys the riders and their families over the seven months of street. In the Tour de Rock family, Rene – Rene at age 9, and Lucas their Tour experience – three days a week of training and Lucas are both remembered for their at age 7 – lost their fights and fundraising on top of that – cannot be stressed positive and energetic personalities; Rene this year. enough. What is harder to prepare for is the emotional as the boy with the smile that could light side of the journey. The riders are paired with junior team Both Rene and members, children with a history of cancer. Some of these up a room, and Lucas for his loving spirit Lucas were wellchildren continue to deal with the often-debilitating effects of and wonderfully big sense of humour. loved and active cancer treatment even while participating in Tour events. Their Dr. Sheila Pritchard has been a pediatric members of the stories are both troubling and inspiring for the riders. oncologist at BC Children’s Hospital for three Junior team.

The good news for these children and their families is that we decades. She has seen firsthand children They loved are heading in the right direction. Childhood cancer survival rates – members of our Junior Rider team – go spending are rising (since Tour de Rock’s inception the five-year survival rate through this painful cancer battle. time on has increased 11% to 83%), and treatments are less invasive and have “It’s tough. You get to know them very Tour fewer side effects now. There is a direct link between these advances riding well. It’s not the sort of specialty you can and the efforts of the people of Vancouver Island who, since 1998, have cut yourself off emotionally,” she says. “You in embraced this cause as their own. have to be with this young patient and their

Y

“

TEAM ON 1,000-KM RIDE family on this whole journey. We’re all in it together.”

Because of her experience as a pediatric oncologist, Pritchard has also seen how cancer treatments have improved since her work began. There are new and better chemotherapy drugs; surgical methods for removing certain cancers have improved; lab tests identifying cancers are quicker and more accurate; supportive care for dealing with the cancer is better. Also on the rise is awareness of childhood cancers.

“It’s still not as good as I would like it to be. Certainly we see a lot less very late diagnoses now. Doctors and healthcare professionals think about childhood cancer earlier,” Pritchard says.

For a parent like Julia Taylor, who witnessed her little boy fight a painful neuroblastoma three times in a span of five years, pediatric cancer treatments are certainly not as good as she would like them to be.

“Once you start talking about childhood cancer, neuroblastoma stops being rare.

Kids are dying from neuroblastoma, kids are dying from so many other types of cancer.

There is so much more that needs to be done,” she says.

Until there’s no need for Junior Riders – when all pediatric cancers can be cured painlessly and without side effects – and the Tour de Rock’s work is done, only then will we stop pedalling.

Life after cancer doesn’t mean ‘all better’ CHILDREN CAN FACE CHALLENGES OF TREATMENT SIDE EFFECTS WHILE IN REMISSION

I

t has been 10 years since Emma Irwin found out her 10-weekold daughter Daisy had not one, but two forms of leukemia. Emma, her husband Patrick and their older daughter Molly rallied around Daisy.

“We watched this smallest and sweetest of humans endure the fiercest and cruelest of battles between doctors and disease,” says Emma.

Statistically, oncologists and cancer fundraising organizations often say 80 per cent of children’s cancers are curable. But those stats only mean a child has survived five years after being diagnosed. Survival doesn’t always equate with being healthy, either.

“What people don’t understand,” says Emma, “is a cure doesn’t mean all better. Right now, cancer treatment is not a cure, it’s a trade-off.”

Daisy is now 10 years old, but life after chemotherapy hasn’t been easy for the little girl.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada says damage to the brain is common after chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants.

Learning, memory and focusing issues can occur, as can other side effects such as missing teeth, alopecia, growth issues, seizures and secondary cancers.

“

It’s time to talk about what it means to survive.”

“Daisy is in psychiatric care for symptoms similar to post traumatic stress disorder,” says Emma. “She was just a baby, but she remembers.”

Emma not only wants society to change the way we look at survivors, but also the way we treat them.

“Right now there is no support for survivors. There’s a real gap in our education system, not only for schools, but for parents, too.”

Emma would like to see some kind of a how-to guide for parents of childhood cancer survivors; a roadmap to help families navigate all of the bumps they will face as their children become adults.

Join us at Shawnigan Lake School for a spaghetti dinner and silent auction hosted by the students and local RCMP! Tickets are $10. To reserve your tickets call 250-746-2315 or email rlwebb@telus.net.

MID ISLAND

Loggers Sports for Tour de Rock Sunday, September 6 • 4 p.m.

Come out for the Ladysmith Loggers Sports at the Transfer Beach amphitheatre. Bring your own lawn chair, blanket or stool. Admission is by donation.

“When Daisy was diagnosed I searched and searched for other families with babies fighting cancer; someone to connect with,” she says.

Emma now has a Facebook group with nearly 300 members. They represent families stricken with the extremely rare diagnosis of infant leukemia. “We are not seeing 80-percent cure rates, not even close. We lose a lot of babies. Among those who survive the five-year mark, many are far from cured.”

As a parent of a childhood cancer survivor, Emma also wants the messaging around cancer fundraising to change. “Eighty per cent [cure rates are] a myth leading to reduced funding and complacency that children’s cancer is nearly cured, and worse, that cures mean all better. Until the cures stop being traumatic and poisonous and the creator of a new disease, there is no cure.”

Ten-year-old Daisy Irwin is a member of the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock Junior Rider team.

Nanaimo Red Serge Tour de Rock Dinner Sunday, September 27 • 5 p.m.

Enjoy an amazing dinner, auctions, and raffle with the Tour de Rock team. Tickets are $60 at Country Club Centre Lotto Booth, Coast Capital Savings or by emailing tberg@bc.cancer.ca.

NORTH ISLAND

6th Annual Sayward Fishing Derby Saturday, August 22 & Sunday, August 23 Test your lines in the Johnstone Strait and see who can pull in the biggest catch. Info: Sandy Sanderson at s.sanders@ telus.net.

Cups for Cancer Barrel Race at Comox Valley Fair Grounds August 29 - August 30 at 10 a.m.

Riders of all ages and skill levels can compete for a great cause. For more info or to pre-register: Kandi Woods at 250.923.3941.

Pirates of the Caribbean II at the Best Western – The Westerly Hotel & Convention Centre Wednesday, September 23 • 6 p.m.

Meet the Tour de Rock riders at this pirate-themed 6 course dinner with live band. Tickets, $60, at Best Westerly, Boston Pizza and RCMP office. For more info, contact Lisa at 250218-7158.

For a complete listing of all upcoming Tour de Rock fundraising events visit TourdeRock.ca

W2

Nanaimo News Bulletin Tuesday, August 18, 2015

www.nanaimobulletin.com

www.nanaimobulletin.com

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Nanaimo News Bulletin W3

Events Calendar UPCOMING TOUR DE ROCK FUNDRAISING EVENTS

SOUTH ISLAND

Good Times Dance in Sooke Friday, August 28 • 7:30 p.m. – 1 a.m.

Dance the night away while enjoying the music of Phoenix.

Tickets, $10 at Shoppers Drug Mart and Peoples Drug Store in Sooke. For more info tour.de.rock.michael@hotmail.com or call 250-886-2125.

Tour de Rock Fishing Derby at Pedder Bay Marina Sunday, August 30 Prizes for largest fish & mystery weight! $50/rod (includes BBQ). Launch fee by donation. Rental boats & equipment available. Join us for just the BBQ for $15! Info & tickets: nbrame@shaw.ca or 250-920-6450.

What is the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock?

Tour de Rock Red Serge Dinner in Shawnigan Wednesday, September 16 • Cocktails at 6pm, Dinner at 7pm

Junior Riders: Our Heroes

T

he simplest answer is that it’s a two-week bicycle journey in which a team of police officers YOUNG CANCER FIGHTERS MOTIVATE ride more than 1,000 kilometres from the north end of Vancouver Island to the south, the police cars. raising money to fight childhood cancer. ou don’t have to search hard to “He loved the attention that was given Since 1998, Tour de Rock has raised discover what motivates the Tour more than $20 million for the Canadian to him by the police officers, his riders. We de Rock team to pedal 1000Cancer Society, which uses the money think that he knew he was playing a role in plus kilometres. to fund pediatric cancer research and the fight against cancer,” Julia Taylor says of Taped to the handlebars of their programs. her son Rene. “At the same time, he really bikes or etched into each rider’s mind The story goes back to 1994, when a enjoyed building these relationships and you’ll find the faces of the brave group of Edmonton police officers shaved the encouragement that he got from the members of the Junior Rider team. their heads in support of a boy who had lost officers.”

Each one is a child with a history of his hair to chemotherapy. By 1997, the Cops cancer – some are currently fighting for Cancer head shaves had reached Victoria. the disease, some are in remission, The local police wanted to try something and some have unfortunately He loved the attention bigger. A brainstorming session between the recently lost their battle – and each cops and the Canadian Cancer Society led to the that was given to him one is a reminder that our work suggestion of a bike ride the length of the Island. isn’t anywhere near complete. by the police officers, And the rest is history.

Rene Soto-Taylor and A new team is picked every year. This year’s his riders. ” Lucas Wetklo are two Junior team is made up of 20 police officers and one Riders who fall into the last member of the media. The sacrifices demanded of That enjoyment is certainly a two-way category. Both young boys the riders and their families over the seven months of street. In the Tour de Rock family, Rene – Rene at age 9, and Lucas their Tour experience – three days a week of training and Lucas are both remembered for their at age 7 – lost their fights and fundraising on top of that – cannot be stressed positive and energetic personalities; Rene this year. enough. What is harder to prepare for is the emotional as the boy with the smile that could light side of the journey. The riders are paired with junior team Both Rene and members, children with a history of cancer. Some of these up a room, and Lucas for his loving spirit Lucas were wellchildren continue to deal with the often-debilitating effects of and wonderfully big sense of humour. loved and active cancer treatment even while participating in Tour events. Their Dr. Sheila Pritchard has been a pediatric members of the stories are both troubling and inspiring for the riders. oncologist at BC Children’s Hospital for three Junior team.

The good news for these children and their families is that we decades. She has seen firsthand children They loved are heading in the right direction. Childhood cancer survival rates – members of our Junior Rider team – go spending are rising (since Tour de Rock’s inception the five-year survival rate through this painful cancer battle. time on has increased 11% to 83%), and treatments are less invasive and have “It’s tough. You get to know them very Tour fewer side effects now. There is a direct link between these advances riding well. It’s not the sort of specialty you can and the efforts of the people of Vancouver Island who, since 1998, have cut yourself off emotionally,” she says. “You in embraced this cause as their own. have to be with this young patient and their

Y

“

TEAM ON 1,000-KM RIDE family on this whole journey. We’re all in it together.”

Because of her experience as a pediatric oncologist, Pritchard has also seen how cancer treatments have improved since her work began. There are new and better chemotherapy drugs; surgical methods for removing certain cancers have improved; lab tests identifying cancers are quicker and more accurate; supportive care for dealing with the cancer is better. Also on the rise is awareness of childhood cancers.

“It’s still not as good as I would like it to be. Certainly we see a lot less very late diagnoses now. Doctors and healthcare professionals think about childhood cancer earlier,” Pritchard says.

For a parent like Julia Taylor, who witnessed her little boy fight a painful neuroblastoma three times in a span of five years, pediatric cancer treatments are certainly not as good as she would like them to be.

“Once you start talking about childhood cancer, neuroblastoma stops being rare.

Kids are dying from neuroblastoma, kids are dying from so many other types of cancer.

There is so much more that needs to be done,” she says.

Until there’s no need for Junior Riders – when all pediatric cancers can be cured painlessly and without side effects – and the Tour de Rock’s work is done, only then will we stop pedalling.

Life after cancer doesn’t mean ‘all better’ CHILDREN CAN FACE CHALLENGES OF TREATMENT SIDE EFFECTS WHILE IN REMISSION

I

t has been 10 years since Emma Irwin found out her 10-weekold daughter Daisy had not one, but two forms of leukemia. Emma, her husband Patrick and their older daughter Molly rallied around Daisy.

“We watched this smallest and sweetest of humans endure the fiercest and cruelest of battles between doctors and disease,” says Emma.

Statistically, oncologists and cancer fundraising organizations often say 80 per cent of children’s cancers are curable. But those stats only mean a child has survived five years after being diagnosed. Survival doesn’t always equate with being healthy, either.

“What people don’t understand,” says Emma, “is a cure doesn’t mean all better. Right now, cancer treatment is not a cure, it’s a trade-off.”

Daisy is now 10 years old, but life after chemotherapy hasn’t been easy for the little girl.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada says damage to the brain is common after chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants.

Learning, memory and focusing issues can occur, as can other side effects such as missing teeth, alopecia, growth issues, seizures and secondary cancers.

“

It’s time to talk about what it means to survive.”

“Daisy is in psychiatric care for symptoms similar to post traumatic stress disorder,” says Emma. “She was just a baby, but she remembers.”

Emma not only wants society to change the way we look at survivors, but also the way we treat them.

“Right now there is no support for survivors. There’s a real gap in our education system, not only for schools, but for parents, too.”

Emma would like to see some kind of a how-to guide for parents of childhood cancer survivors; a roadmap to help families navigate all of the bumps they will face as their children become adults.

Join us at Shawnigan Lake School for a spaghetti dinner and silent auction hosted by the students and local RCMP! Tickets are $10. To reserve your tickets call 250-746-2315 or email rlwebb@telus.net.

MID ISLAND

Loggers Sports for Tour de Rock Sunday, September 6 • 4 p.m.

Come out for the Ladysmith Loggers Sports at the Transfer Beach amphitheatre. Bring your own lawn chair, blanket or stool. Admission is by donation.

“When Daisy was diagnosed I searched and searched for other families with babies fighting cancer; someone to connect with,” she says.

Emma now has a Facebook group with nearly 300 members. They represent families stricken with the extremely rare diagnosis of infant leukemia. “We are not seeing 80-percent cure rates, not even close. We lose a lot of babies. Among those who survive the five-year mark, many are far from cured.”

As a parent of a childhood cancer survivor, Emma also wants the messaging around cancer fundraising to change. “Eighty per cent [cure rates are] a myth leading to reduced funding and complacency that children’s cancer is nearly cured, and worse, that cures mean all better. Until the cures stop being traumatic and poisonous and the creator of a new disease, there is no cure.”

Ten-year-old Daisy Irwin is a member of the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock Junior Rider team.

Nanaimo Red Serge Tour de Rock Dinner Sunday, September 27 • 5 p.m.

Enjoy an amazing dinner, auctions, and raffle with the Tour de Rock team. Tickets are $60 at Country Club Centre Lotto Booth, Coast Capital Savings or by emailing tberg@bc.cancer.ca.

NORTH ISLAND

6th Annual Sayward Fishing Derby Saturday, August 22 & Sunday, August 23 Test your lines in the Johnstone Strait and see who can pull in the biggest catch. Info: Sandy Sanderson at s.sanders@ telus.net.

Cups for Cancer Barrel Race at Comox Valley Fair Grounds August 29 - August 30 at 10 a.m.

Riders of all ages and skill levels can compete for a great cause. For more info or to pre-register: Kandi Woods at 250.923.3941.

Pirates of the Caribbean II at the Best Western – The Westerly Hotel & Convention Centre Wednesday, September 23 • 6 p.m.

Meet the Tour de Rock riders at this pirate-themed 6 course dinner with live band. Tickets, $60, at Best Westerly, Boston Pizza and RCMP office. For more info, contact Lisa at 250218-7158.

For a complete listing of all upcoming Tour de Rock fundraising events visit TourdeRock.ca

W4

Nanaimo News Bulletin Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Camp Goodtimes offers safety and hope KIDS AND FAMILIES TOUCHED BY CANCER GET AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER EXPERIENCE

A

Camp Goodtimes and what it is that those riders are s the Canadian Cancer Society Cops for Cancer working towards as they sweat up and down the hills of Tour de Rock revs up for another year, the Vancouver Island. riders, communities and Junior Riders are all Saanich getting excited.

Police Reserve The long days, weeks and months of training are Sergeant Nick coming to a head as the Sept. 19 launch of the twoMandryk, one week bicycle journey down Vancouver Island draws of the riders on near. the 2015 Tour While the cycling is hard, the police officers and de Rock team, media member who comprise the team know that in was thrilled at riding they are supporting, cheering and embracing the opportunity those who have fought a much tougher journey in to visit Camp dealing with childhood cancer. But the riders also Goodtimes know that for these incredible children, a bright spot earlier this year. along this journey is Camp Goodtimes.

Nick initially Camp Goodtimes, nestled beside a forestprepared himself to see kids in all stages of their cancer ringed lake in the Fraser Valley, is described as an battle, but when he got to camp he was blown away “unforgettable, empowering experience for children by the energy he encountered. “I with cancer.” According to riders see (Camp) as an essential thing and campers, it’s so much more. that these kids need. It’s their Desiree Young, a longtime “I see (Camp) as an avenue to feel normal,” says Tour de Rock Junior Rider, is a Nick. “Given what they and their 14-year-old who beat acute essential thing that families have gone through, this lymphoblastic leukemia.

She has been going to Camp these kids need. It’s their week is invaluable.”

Although the journeys for Goodtimes for eight years. To avenue to feel normal. these children are all different, her, it’s a “safe, accepting place,” their enthusiasm for the Tour de somewhere to escape and have Given what they and Rock riders was evident. fun. Not only do the campers their families have gone “I was blindsided when the and their siblings get to enjoy all kids came out and freaked out, sorts of fun activities in a safe through, this week elated that we were there,” and welcoming environment, but Nick says. “[They] all loved and parents get a chance to connect is invaluable.” embraced us and it’s given me and talk about their family’s even more of a reason to ride.” journey.

Camp Goodtimes is so much more than an Desiree, whose nervousness about going to camp experience. Camp is acceptance. Camp is hope. Camp is disappeared as soon as she saw the friendly, eager perspective. people there to greet her, says it’s vitally important for Tour de Rock riders to visit and see the power of

“

Printing and distribution of Tour de Rock feature generously sponsored by:

www.nanaimobulletin.com

Thank you to our 2015 Tour de Rock Sponsors TOUR SPONSOR

PARTNER SPONSOR

PLATINUM SPONSORS

Trek Bicycle Store

MEDIA SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS

The Westerly Hotel & Convention Centre

Support Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock To get involved, contact: Katie Crowe, Tour de Rock Coordinator kcrowe@bc.cancer.ca | 250.592.2244

Donate Now

& learn about the 2015 team at TourdeRock.ca facebook.com/ CopsTourdeRock

@TourdeRock and mention #forthekids