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‘Not Beyond us’ theme of World Cancer Day next week

January 28, 2015   ·   0 Comments

Next Wednesday, World Cancer Day will be taking a positive, proactive approach in the fight against cancer, which will take place under the tagline ‘Not Beyond Us’.

The idea behind the approach is the highlighting of solutions that do exist across the spectrum of cancer, and that those solutions can be within reach.

According to the worldcancerday.org website, currently 8.2 million people die from cancer every year, out of which 4 million die prematurely (defined as aged 30-69).

On the Canadian front, the organizers of the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, which benefits Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, is encouraging participants to sign up on World Cancer Day, showing their support for the fight to conquer cancer.

The Ride, in its eighth year, is a two-day 200-kilometre return trip between Toronto and Niagara, and brings together communities of riders, survivors and supporters as part of the goal to end cancer during their lifetime.

“It’s really great to be able to do the ride as a survivor, because it’s a great chance to reflect on all the things that got me to this point,” explained Matthew Regimbal, an Orangeville resident and cancer survivor.

Mr. Regimbal was diagnosed with cancer during high school, at only 15 years of age. He went through his radiation treatments at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, over the next two years, which is part of what led him to participate in The Ride.

“I saw a commercial for The Ride and thought that it would be a great way to give back to a place that I benefitted from,” said Mr. Regimbal. “It’s been very rewarding simply being able to be around and do that.”

He added that it really gave him the opportunity to reflect on his experiences that he went through, but also the experiences that participating has allowed him to have.

“When you’re younger, there’s not much reflection or as huge of an impact,” he said. “You think you’re invincible as a teenager. I thought about it, but I just dealt and moved forward. Now, just being able to help out, and help people overcome cancer themselves, it’s a great feeling.”

At the 2014 Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, $20 million was raised to benefit the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, with 5200 riders. The 2015 Ride will take place on June 13-14, and will be offering a variety of different routes to appeal to all levels of riders.

“Part of what makes this event so impactful for the survivors, those facing treatment, and the supporters is that the whole thing is sort of like the cancer journey,” said Mr. Regimbal. “The first day is good and it’s fun and you’re excited, and the second day you’re really sore. It feels a lot longer on the second day even though it’s a little bit of an easier ride. It’s just like your journey. You hit a point where there’s highs and lows throughout treatment.”

World Cancer Day 2015 is being promoted as a unique opportunity to raise awareness about how much there is that can be done at an individual, community and government level to both harness and mobilize solutions and promote positive change.

“The campaign will explore how we can implement what we already know in the areas of prevention, early detection, treatment and care, and in turn open up to the exciting prospect that we can impact the global cancer burden – for the better,” wrote the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) on their website. “By moving forward together we have the potential to show: Cancer. It is not beyond us.”

The 2015 campaign will be focused around four key areas: Choosing healthy lives, delivering early detection, achieving treatment for all and maximising the quality of life.

It’s easy to see why The Ride wants to encourage people to make a statement by signing up and providing funds, because their goals are very much in line with the goals of the UICC for World Cancer Day.

“It’s all about paying it forward,” explained Mr. Regimbal, regarding The Ride. “The more you can do, the more people that participate, the more we can help others. It’s beneficial for everybody.”

“The goal always with The Ride is that we want to conquer cancer in our lifetime.”

For more information on World Cancer Day or what you can do to participate and raise awareness, visit www.worldcancerday.org.

To sign up for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, support a team, or make a donation, visit www.conquercancer.ca.

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