Hello there I am participating in my first ever Ride for Roswell in honor of my amazing father who was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer this past August. I'm also riding in honor of my Uncle Ed who has been battling Colon and Prostate cancer, and for my Aunt Rose who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
My Mom and I had just gotten back from a fun trip to Bogota, Colombia for the 50th Anniversary of FANA which is the orphanage I was adopted from as a baby. My dad so graciously offered to pick us up from the Toronto Airport despite getting in kind of late.
He had been complaining of stomach pain before we left and was still having the same pain after we returned. We pushed him to go to the doctor. His blood work came back and it was not good. His liver enzymes were very high so he was advised to get a catscan immediately this was on a Sunday. Before I knew it I got a call from my mom saying my dad had a mass on his pancreas. That was devastating in itself because I had suspicions it was cancer. He was then sent to the ER, eventually got a biopsy and then we received the worst news. My dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer on August 31. It didn't feel real. Pretty soon words like chemo, bile duct, pancreas, and Whipple become part of my everyday vocabulary.
It was crushing to hear that my Dad, the sweetest and best man I know has this monster of a disease. He has been receiving Chemo every other week at Roswell and the type of chemo he's on is fairly rough and he has been handling it like a champ. This has truly been hard on me, my Mom , and my two brothers who don't live local. We have a huge support system which definitely helps. We are hopeful my Dad can still get the Whipple surgery in a couple months. We have been trying to take things day by day. It's a hard line between staying optimistic and being realistic knowing how aggressive PC is. But the hope and love we have from family and friends gets us through. I am honored to be riding this year.
I need your help to raise critically needed funds to support the thousands of patients that turn to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center each year.
Please consider donating to my Ride for Roswell fundraiser. For every dollar donated to cancer research, Roswell Park is now able to leverage an additional $23 from external grants towards that research.
Together - we can end cancer!