She wrote, ‘I hope you are sitting down.’ I was as I was at my computer checking my emails. “I have cancer. They say no one lives longer than 5 years with this type”. It hit me like a train. I flashed to the soccer field-us meeting as kids in public school, to playing records, to laughing, to almost setting a forest on fire playing with matches, to always keeping in touch, to her parents, to her siblings-to everything along the journey of friendship over years and years. This simply was not possible. Not Becky. Not my oldest treasured friend. I read it again, stood up, walked out the office door, got in my car and drove from Toronto to London. “What are you doing here?” She looked shocked. “What do you think!?” Her energy shifted down, “Sorry, it was easier to write”. The method of deliver was not my concern, her living as long as possible was. This was her first experience with cancer-as was it mine. She always said, “If I can just hang in there until they find something else to keep me alive a little longer”. She went through more than a few trials of this and that. She was the 8th person to get the type of cancer she had. She was stubborn and determined to prove the doctors wrong. She did. However, then I received the call. I was driving-she never called my cell. “They have given me less than six weeks”. Her voice cracked. I took a wrong turn and headed up the 400 Hwy towards Barrie. “Do not believe them! They have NO right to tell you that. You have already proven them wrong more than once. There could be a cure right around the corner. I will NOT accept this! Damn them for saying that to you!” I was trying to be strong for her-or was it for me? It was cutting like a sharp knife towards my heart. “Tell me what you are thinking,” I said to her….we talked for several minutes then my charge was dwindling down. “I will call you when I get home after teaching. Please try to stay positive”. “I will, but it’s pretty hard”. I looked for a familiar landmark and could not figure out where I was. I called the studio with the name of a road I had just past. I was 50k from my destination. At that moment I had no idea where either of us where headed. I was told to go home. I conceded. On Dec. 29th of 2006 I held her hand and said good-bye to the earthly experience we had shared. I walked out of the hospital room ahead of everyone else and made it to the elevator then fell into a chair sobbing. “I’m not afraid of dying; I’m just not ready to go”, she said to me once. I was not ready either. I am still not. I am still sitting in a chair with tears rolling down my face. Her parents lost their eldest, her three siblings lost their sister, her nieces and nephews lost an aunt and so many of us lost a friend. I told her that if she had to go, I would have to live a life for both of us. I know she appreciated those words. I also promised her I would keep her memory alive. She smiled because one of her fears was that she would be forgotten. I will never let that happen-this ride is for us. And, I expect her to pull her share of the load as my butt sits on that narrow little seat aching!!! She had more paddling back there than I! We will have more than one discussion along the route I am certain. Her number was 33, mine 3-, the ride starts on the 9th day of the 9th month-it’s the 3rd annual event and she’s been gone 3 years-we shared 33 years of friendship. She is enjoying all of that as I. Coincidence-not. The ride, the training, the fundraising-all will be a challenge, but the hardest thing will be meeting the families and the children that are fighting the real battle. I can not image what a child and their families go through. I know what the Ross’s went through. I pray that maybe, just maybe one of the dollars that I raise can make a difference-I know they will….and that is why I am asking you to donate to this cause-on behalf of those that need our support, those that are living with and beyond cancer. Thank you for reading this. Thank you for supporting in anyway you can. Thank you to all those involve with Coast to Coast!! Thank goodness I have been blessed with 13 healthy nieces and nephews!! debmaybury At any given time, cancer holds 10,000 Canadian children in its grip. It robs them, and their families, of the laughter and joy that should be part of every childhood. Riding in the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride will channel my physical, mental and emotional energy into something much greater – helping brave children return to life as regular kids again.

I'll share the road with a crowd of athletes, united in our commitment to the childhood cancer community. Your support is welcome and needed. Please join me in this powerful and inspiring experience by helping to fund important childhood cancer charities across Canada.

About Childhood Cancer:

While the causes of adult cancers include environmental, occupational and lifestyle factors, such as diet, alcohol and smoking, the causes of childhood cancers are, in most cases, unknown.

The types of cancers that occur in children vary greatly from those seen in adults. They tend to occur in different parts of the body, they look different under the microscope and they respond differently to treatment.

Leukemias, brain and other nervous system tumours, lymphomas (lymph node cancers), bone cancers, soft tissue sarcomas, kidney cancers, eye cancers, and adrenal gland cancers are the most common cancers of children.

The stage of growth and development is another important difference between adults and children; the immaturity of children’s organ systems often has important treatment implications.

In the early 1950s, less than 10 percent of childhood cancer patients could be cured. Today, more than 70 percent of children diagnosed with cancer become long-term survivors and the majority of them are considered cured. However, long-term effects of surviving the treatments for childhood cancer can affect these children’s futures.

The National Kids Cancer Ride will fund programs that improve the lives of children living with cancer as well as those recovering from the physical and emotional scars that can be part of survivorship. Beyond the children themselves, their families and friends benefit from on-going support programs provided for by the National Kids Cancer Ride.

For more information of the Foundation’s work, please visit www.CoastToCoastAgainstCancer.org.