Benjamin Phillips

I'm fundraising on the 10th anniversary of my mother's Ride for Cancer

Back in 2016, my mother Bonnie Phillips participated in the BMO Ride for Cancer and 10 years later, I'm looking to do the same. After her initial breast cancer prognosis in 2015, she completed a round of radiation and chemotherapy and by summer 2016 she was in remission and able to do the ride with her colleagues.

However, only two years later she was hospitalized one day for random pains and other symptoms, and the doctors quickly found out that the cancer had metastasized into her lungs. A short 8 months later, she passed away at the young age of 53.

My mom lived an active and healthy life. She made sure to eat well, and was always into sports and fitness from a young age, particularly figure skating and having made the Canada Games for discus as a teenager. This is why it came as a surprise to everyone who knew her when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Cancer knows no boundaries. While there are risk mitigating actions we can (and should) take to reduce our risk, genetic and other environmental factors out of our control mean that there is a degree of randomness for those whose lives it upends.

This is why I support fundraising, along with government-funded research, into cancer prevention awareness and treatment technologies. My mother did what she could to reduce her risk and live to her ultimate goal of 100 years old, however the odds were not in her favour. My hope is that any contributions today will help us get to a world where the randomness of cancer means that those who make all the right decisions do not have their lives cut short.

To learn more about the impact your donation will have, visit https://YourRideforCancer.ca/Impact.