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Raising more than hope Fourth-annual Ovarian Cancer Walk of Hope raises $21,000, and awareness
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, September 11, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Sixty warriors donned teal, the official colour for Ovarian Cancer Canada, and took to Somba K'e Civic Plaza on Sunday to continue a battle started by a Yellowknifer many described as courageous, tenacious and full of life.
Organizer Carl Bird speaks to volunteers and participants before the Ovarian Cancer Walk of Hope begins on Sunday. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo |
Yellowknife's fourth-annual Ovarian Cancer Walk of Hope, which began at 12:30 p.m., raised more than $21,000 to go toward research into early detection of what organizer Carl Bird called a "horrible, insipid disease."
"Once again, Yellowknifers' generosity has shone through," said Bird after the event.
Bird and his wife Barbara, who died after a three-year battle with the cancer on Jan. 20, started the Yellowknife chapter of the walk three years ago after she was diagnosed. She led the very first walk in Yellowknife five days after undergoing surgery.
"Barb fought bravely and publicly against this disease, to raise awareness and get people to understand that (ovarian cancer) is a terrible, fatal disease," Bird said at Sunday's walk during a tearful, grief-stricken speech to start the event.
More than 2,600 Canadian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and 1,750 of them die as a result, according to the Ovarian Cancer Canada website. There are no screening tests to detect it and if it's not diagnosed early, there is a 30 per cent survival rate, making it among the deadliest of all cancers. If it is found early, the survival rate is 90 per cent.
The symptoms are vague, non-specific and can be attributed to other causes, according to Ovarian Cancer Canada. The top symptoms are swelling or bloating of the abdomen, pelvic discomfort and back pain.
"The best way to fight the disease is to promote awareness of the symptoms, get women to recognize them and then get the health-care community to do the right diagnostic testing when those symptoms are present," Bird said.
Keith Thomas, one of the top fundraisers for the event, raised $2,250 through donations from co-workers at Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. For Thomas, it was a walk of celebration for his daughter. Monique Hurley of Halifax was diagnosed more than three years ago while five-months pregnant. Her cancer was discovered during an ultrasound - she was 27 at the time.
"They took her in the next day and removed a six-pound cyst from her ovary," Thomas said. "They didn't even let her go home after her ultrasound."
Hurley went through chemotherapy and radiation once the cyst was removed, but her daughter Lauren was born healthy, and will be four years old next month.
Hurley was studying her masters in psychology at the University of New Brunswick at the time she was diagnosed, and didn't allow the cancer to get the best of her - she graduated with a GPA better than 4.0.
"It took her a couple years before she got over (the treatment)," Thomas said. "But she had an MRI a couple of months ago, and she had no sign of cancer - that was excellent to hear."
Many of the volunteers and participants had tears in their eyes as Bird, clutching a piece of paper with teal-painted fingernails, spoke about his wife's battle. The mood was sombre during the opening address, but by the time people lined up at the starting line, many of them wore proud smiles.
The group walked from the civic plaza along McMahon Frame Lake Trail to Stanton Territorial Hospital, stopping for refreshments before walking back.
Shawna Lampi-Legaree was one of them. She was walking in memory of Barbara Bird who she was close with.
"She was a very strong-willed woman," Lampi-Legaree said. "I remember her tenacity, her strength of character and especially her straight-forwardness."
Following the event, a draw was held for two tickets to Edmonton, courtesy of First Air. Brittany Harriot, who led Carl's Crusaders, the top fundraising team with $3,500, won the tickets.
Yellowknife's walk of hope has raised approximately $95,000 since it began in 2010, said Bird. Nationally, since beginning in 2001, $14 million has been raised and 31,200 women have been diagnosed.
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