Scott Thomas

2024 Ride for Cancer....Here I Come

Here we go again...the 10th year, and my 10 year, for Ride For Cancer.  I started doing this event initially as a way of giving back after my own cancer diagnosis.  But over the last 10 years, after watching family, friends, and co-workers struggle with this nightmare...and some getting struck down by it...I'm more determined than ever to see the door of life hit this disease in the butt on it's way out.  So once again, on Saturday, September 28, 2024, I’m riding alongside a community with one common goal: transforming local cancer care at the QEII Health Sciences Centre.  

Nova Scotia has the highest cancer rates in all of Canada. 1 in 3 patients will not survive. To help combat these alarming stats, our BMO Ride for Cancer community is rallying like never before to introduce liquid biopsy technology that will help determine if a patient’s cancer is cured, if it has returned, and, if so, how best to treat it.

Faster diagnosis saves lives, which is why BMO Ride for Cancer is on a mission to bring rapid cancer detection and monitoring to patients who have already undergone treatment. With a simple blood test that can happen anywhere in the province, QEII experts will use this revolutionary technology to uncover whether patients are cancer-free after surgery and the earliest signs if their cancer has returned.

This technology will be a game-changer. Life-changing benefits include:

• improving survival rates and provide potential cures with earlier detection and personalized treatment options;
• unlocking access to more clinical trials;
• sparing patients from unnecessary treatments and harmful side effects;
• keeping care closer to home and ensuring equitable access, as patients can undergo a simple blood test in any community in Nova Scotia;
• reducing the number of visits required to the QEII, which ultimately impacts wait times;
• providing critical answers about a patient’s cancer sooner, helping to relieve anxiety and worry; and much more.

By supporting my ride today, you are joining a community dedicated to moving the needle in cancer care for Nova Scotians. Your support will pave the way for a future of hope for all of us.

Are you ready to save lives?