RIDE
CYCLE
Donate by June 14 and your gift will be matched dollarfor-dollar up to $25,000, creating twice the impact for children like Sa’ad who are working to overcome the lasting effects of cancer treatment.
Join us for the Ride for a Lifetime. Head into the Rockies on Friday, June 20 for a motorcycle adventure with miles of mountain highway, unbeatable camaraderie, and a chance to help kids with cancer.
Join us for the 2025 Ride of Courage, July 11 to 13. A premier all-inclusive, 3-day cycling event. Cycle through the Alberta Foothills by day and recover around the campfire by night at Camp Kindle. We also have a 1-day, gravel ride and flex cycling options.
EAT, DRINK & BE MERRY
Join us for Barley & Smoke on Friday, August 22, when Calgary’s top chefs and brew masters come together for the taste event of the year! Get tickets at barleysmoke.ca YOUR GIFTS AT WORK, TRANSFORMING THE LIVES OF CHILDREN WITH CANCER
Donate, register or learn more at kidscancercare.ab.ca today.
After a long, hard year at school, Sa’ad and his little sister Ayesha have something to look forward to — summer camp!
Sa’ad attended our SunRise day camp, where he enjoyed opportunities to play, imagine and create with other children. SunRise provides a safe space where children affected by cancer can experience the joy of childhood while developing new skills, friendships, confidence, and a renewed sense of belonging and acceptance.
“I love going to camp because I get to do lots of crafts, colour and play,” says Sa’ad. “Once we got to see the inside of a helicopter, and it was so cool.”
Sa’ad’s father Wasiq sums it perfectly: “Kids Cancer Care has been a blessing for our family. They’ve supported Sa’ad through every step of his journey…. Seeing Sa’ad happy, confident, and surrounded by people who truly care means the world to us. We’re forever grateful for everything they’ve done.”
Thank you for making our programs possible and bringing joy to children like Sa’ad.
Special thanks to the Flames Foundation for supporting our PEER exercise program! We are also deeply grateful to the Fowler family for supporting our Education Support Program in honour of Steven Fowler, who loved school and loved learning.
SPRING 2025
Sa’ad at SunRise day camp
care provided by you
Thank you for bringing joy and hope to children with cancer.
Sa’ad’s story in this issue of Kids Candidly demonstrates the power of resilience and perseverance. At 18 months, cancer stole his smile and crucial developmental milestones. Your support helped him rediscover joy again. Through programs like PEER, tutoring, Cancer in the Classroom and camp, Sa’ad regained his confidence, competence, made friends, and now in Grade four, finds school an exciting place to be and is learning new things!
Sa’ad reminds us that no matter how old you are and what life throws at you, you can survive and thrive in body, mind, and spirit when you have a community of love and support behind you.
Thank you for being a part of Sa’ad’s journey, and please continue your generosity to help more young people like him.
Sincerely,
Tracey Martin Chief Executive Officer
PS. This spring, I encourage you to do one thing for a child with cancer.
Leave a positive mark on a young life by becoming a monthly donor or making a one-time gift
You're helping Sa'ad to thrive
April 9, 2017, started off innocently enough. Sa’ad was playing in the garage with his cousins — chomping on an apple and enjoying a carefree moment — when suddenly he began choking. His body went limp, his skin turned a deep blue, and the desperate sound of laboured breathing filled the air.
Although the paramedics reassured his parents that Sa’ad was recovering well, something didn’t feel right. Even as he slept through the ambulance ride, Saman and Wasiq knew their brave little boy was fighting for every breath.
An hour later, an X-ray revealed the source of Sa’ad’s breathing issue. A large, ominous mass near his heart was crushing his windpipe. After a CT scan and a series of blood tests, Saman and Wasiq Iqbal learned their 18-month-old son had cancer — T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Within days, Sa’ad started on chemotherapy.
“The side effects from chemo were challenging,” says Sa’ad’s mother Saman. “Our once bright, smiling little boy began to seem distant, as if he had forgotten how to smile or speak with his usual energy.”
While other kids his age were enjoying play dates and exploring their world, Sa’ad was undergoing complex medical procedures and receiving chemotherapy. He missed crucial developmental stages. Infections were unavoidable, and each time Sa’ad picked up an infection, he was back in the hospital — often spending days in the ICU.
Although Sa’ad finished treatment in July 2019, he is still living with its lasting effects. He is below grade level in reading and math, and his balance and coordination are impaired. Your support meant we could be there for the Iqbal family as Sa’ad began the long road to recovery.
Saman recalls the first time her son ever said, “Nobody wants to play with me because I can’t run fast enough.” It broke her heart. But with your support, Sa’ad was able to run and play with other kids at our PEER1 exercise program.
“Sa’ad was very young when he was diagnosed, so we focused on his fundamental movement skills like walking, running, jumping, and throwing,” says Carolina Chamorro Vina, Ph.D., who oversees the PEER program.
Thanks to your support, Sa’ad is also strengthening his academic skills. Working with a Kids Cancer Care tutor, he is developing his foundational math, language and problem-solving skills, executive functioning, and social-emotional development.
“My tutor’s name is Armaan and she’s really nice,” says Sa’ad. “She helps me understand my math and helps me with writing. She makes math fun, and I understand better when she teaches me.”
Sa’ad’s mom is seeing a difference too: “He’s doing so, so much better in school because of all the support from Kids Cancer Care.”
Because Sa’ad missed important social milestones, he is behind his peers, socially and emotionally. “In school, he faced challenges making friends as some children were unkind,” says Saman.
With your support, we were able to help Sa’ad through our Cancer in the Classroom program. This unique program helps foster compassion and understanding in school kids by talking openly about cancer and exploring ways to support a friend affected by it.
Each fall, when Sa’ad began a new school year, he worked with our child life specialist to create a customized Cancer in the Classroom presentation for his class. When the teasing grew worse in grade three, they developed a Minecraft 2-themed magic presentation. It was a hit! The whole class loved it!
“It made me so happy because my friends understood me better,” says Sa’ad. “After that, they were nicer to me and included me in their games.”
“Kids Cancer Care has been a blessing for our family. They’ve supported Sa’ad through every step of his journey…
— Wasiq
Sa’ad’s mother is delighted: “The presentation helped reawaken his joy and reintegrate Sa’ad into his classmates’ circles. Grade four has been his best year yet! School has once again become a place of excitement and learning.”
Sa’ad endured nearly three years of cancer treatments
Sa’ad, and his mom Saman, are all smiles after his Cancer in the Classroom presentation
Sa’ad at the start of his treatment.
What happens now that the cancer is gone?
You will still need
come to the hospital for some tests to make sure you stay healthy.
