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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 14, 2006 - 3 Oakville cyclists touring Ontario for the kids Tour for Kids will raise funds for pediatric cancer camps By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A group of Oakville residents will join 250 other avid cyclists in an 800-km ride around Ontario Aug. 4 to raise money for kids' cancer camps. "Obviously as a cancer survivor I have tremendous empathy for the children and their families. Riding the tour allows me to assist the camps financially, contemplate my own cancer history and also ride as a tribute to my friends and others who also have struggled with the disease," said 48-year-old David Wilson. Wilson and the others are members of TeamRACE (Ride Against Cancer Everywhere), a cancer advocacy cycling team that is active in two fundraising drives. One is the Gears 24-hour-Spin that's raised about $3 million for the Betty Wallace Breast Cancer Centre at Trillium Health Centre. The other event is the Tour for Kids, the 800-km ride starting on Aug. 4 that commences in Toronto and winds through cottage country, Peterborough and back to Toronto. All 250 riders are fundraising and it's hoped they'll raise at least $750,000 for three pediatric cancer camps in Ontario -- Camp Oochigeas, Camp Quality and Camp Trillium. Last year at the end of the ride the Barenaked Ladies gave a free private concert for the kids, their families and the riders. Wilson, an Oakville resident of six years, has been cycling for 20 years, but has been a cancer survivor for five years. The father of two had young children when he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer by accident. His ordeal began with a decision to boost his life insurance after having children. "A doctor came to my office, did a cursory check over," said Wilson, adding, the doctor discovered a swelling on Wilson's neck. Three weeks later, Wilson was skiing when he collapsed a lung and after connecting with his family doctor, ended up seeing a specialist about the swelling. Wilson had a six-centimetre cyst on his right thyroid lobe. He had a biopsy, was told there was a 22 per cent chance of it being cancerous, and he would hear in five weeks the results. "I had a three-year-old and a one-year-old and I was just KEVIN HILL / OAKVILLE BEAVER GETTING READY: Oakville cyclists Ariel Andres and David Wilson stop for a rest in front of Oakville's Wellspring Cancer Support Centre while preparing for the Tour for Kids on Aug. 4, an 800-kilometre trip around Ontario. The cycling fundraiser will raise money for three summer camps for children with cancer. absolutely terrified," admitted Wilson. As it turned out it was benign, but Wilson elected to have the cyst removed surgically. It was during that operation -- on July 4 -- that doctors discovered an unstaged tumour on the other side of his neck. Wilson said it changed his life and his outlook. He used to run a computer technology company, but after having cancer, founded a specialized drug company that manufactures radioactive drugs used in the research, diagnosis and staging of some cancers, Quantum Molecular Pharmaceuticals, that's based in Mississauga. Today, the cancer experience is five years behind Wilson, but the mortality issues it raises linger. "So far, so good. You never say you're cancer free, you only say you're a cancer survivor," he said. So why does he ride in Tour for Kids? "It's a little bit of payback," he said, noting he can turn his passion into something that has a benefit. Wilson said kids with cancer often find that their classmates or "I ride the Tour as a survivor with an incredible empathy for the kids and their families as I have been there before. I also ride the event as a tribute to my friends that have gone through the ravages of this terrible disease. We are totally committed and it's a phenomenal cause." Tour for Kids cyclist David Wilson friends view them as the child who has cancer. However, at the camps for children with cancer, they're the absolute norm. "They can talk about their scars, joke about their hair, it's incredibly comforting," he said. Ariel and Sharon Andres of Oakville know about that. They, too, will be participating in Tour for Kids and the issue hits home with them ­ their son, Liam, has attended the camps. Liam, who turns 11 this month, and is in Grade 5 at Rotherglen School, was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma when he was five-and-a-half years old. "We heard about the Tour from another parent whom we met at Camp Trillium, one of the camps supported by the Tour," said Ariel. The Andres family has lived in Oakville for nearly a decade. Besides Liam, the couple has Cheyenne, 9, who has Type 1 diabetes since she was two years old and a daughter, Dylan, 5. "This year my wife, Sharon, and I ride together. We are raising funds for three camps that have deeply changed our family's life. Our son Liam was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma. His chances weren't good, but he has survived," said Ariel, 39, an "avid" cyclist for five years. "The three camps have in many ways helped Liam, as well as his siblings, and made up up for lost `kid' time. We believe these camping experiences are an integral part to treatment," said Ariel, an equity research analyst. "My wife and I really believe the camps are an integral part of the healing process and we help as much as we can. When I heard about the Tour I thought that this was a fantastic opportunity to combine my love of cycling with supporting and promoting the camps," said Ariel. This year Liam reaches the fiveyear-post-stem-cell-transplant milestone and he graduates from Camp Oochigeas. "I am riding for the staff at the camps, most of whom generously volunteer their time and love to care for these kids. Some are survivors themselves or siblings of those who have had cancer. They help restore the childhood soul," said Ariel. Another member of TeamRACE and longtime Oakville resident is Vanessa Mirabelli. An Oakville resident for 18 years, Mirabelli lost her mother to breast cancer at a very early age. "You have four Oakville residents with cancer, children with cancer or who have lost precious family members to the disease. All of us are part of TeamRACE for different reasons, but I believe the overwhelming and common passion is to raise awareness of this dreadful disease, make a difference for others that are directly impacted and help people who have yet to be impacted," said Wilson. The camps are incredibly important because the kids can go there and be kids. All the kids have or have had cancer and they are there having fun. They can compare scars, laugh at their lack of hair, get chemo infusion and just be kids at camp. For the kids and their families this is paradise away from home. TeamRACE member Kevin Wallace, of Clarkson, will also participate having recently completed in the solo race across America two weeks ago. He rode from California to New Jersey in 10 days raising money for the breast cancer centre at Trillium. "When I was diagnosed five years ago I lost focus in my career and wanted to try and give something back to others who also need help. TeamRACE and events like the Tour for Kids allow me to do my little bit to help and also to raise some additional funds to help with the operations of these incredible facilities," said Wilson. "I ride the tour as a survivor with an incredible empathy for the kids and their families as I have been there before. "I also ride the event as a tribute to my friends that have gone through the ravages of this terrible disease. We are totally committed and it's a phenomenal cause," said Wilson. -- Angela Blackburn can be reached at angela@oakvillebeaver.com.