A year ago, Bob and Lise St. Denis retired, and were looking forward to rest and relaxation and spending more time with their young grandsons.
Little did they know that seven months into retirement, Bob would be diagnosed with a life-threatening type of prostate cancer. The severity of prostate cancer is graded one to 10 on the Gleason system, and Bob was graded as a nine.
He had surgery in March, and in April, the family received the good news that Bob's PSA (prostate-specific antigen) — a test used in detecting prostate cancer — was at a zero. It meant he doesn't have to undergo radiation.
“Not all stories end like ours,” said Lise St. Denis, who shared her husband's story June 2 at the media launch for Rally for Dad motorcycle rally, which raises funds for prostate cancer research.
“Our story could have had a very different ending. Most cases that are a nine (on the Gleason scale) don't come out this way.”
A member of the Iron Sirens women's motorcycle club, Lise attended the event last year, and said she never imagined her husband would be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
She said the key to fighting prostate cancer is early detection. Even though men might not be crazy about the idea, the best way to check for prostate cancer is the manual exams done by family doctors.
The 15th annual Rally for Dad, being held June 18, the day before Father's Day, is a motorcycle rally that raises funds for prostate cancer research conducted at the Northeast Cancer Centre, as well as raising awareness of the disease.
All funds raised go to the Northern Cancer Foundation, which supports cancer research at the Northeast Cancer Centre.
“The Monday after our rally, we walk in the cancer centre, and patients stop us and they say 'Really, 200 people came out and rode their bikes on a Saturday afternoon for us?' ” said Northern Cancer Foundation executive director Tannys Laughren.
“We say 'Yeah, they did it for you.' Please know the money is awesome, and what you do is amazing. More importantly, you are providing our patients with hope. That is more important to me than money."
The chairperson for the Rally for Dad organizing committee, Nicole MacDonald, is a breast cancer survivor herself.
Rally for Dad is “so important,” she said.
“Not only does it go towards equipment, it's also for research. We need to find the cure.”
Last year, the event raised more than $20,000, and MacDonald hopes to at least double that this year. Rally for Dad is a “great day,” MacDonald said, with a motorcycle ride, an A&W breakfast and lunch and live entertainment.
Registration, which costs $35 each per rider and passenger, begins at the Northern Cancer Foundation at 10 a.m. For more information, visit www.ncrfsudbury.com.
