Over the last year, as Rick Deans fought against the cancer ravaging his body, he would recite a mantra at the beginning of each new day to help give himself strength through the difficult journey.
“I had my own little saying – it was, ‘Wake up. Kick butt. Repeat,” said the Town of Cochrane’s senior manager of infrastructure services. “I would tell myself that every morning I woke up.”
Now, after travelling his own hard path, Deans said he will rely on that same mantra as he takes to the road this fall for a six-day charity bicycle ride in support of those on their own course through the disease.
“This certainly is by far the most challenging experience I’ll have had on my bicycle … I’m going to stick with that slogan as I ride through the six days of that event,” said Deans with a smile.
Deans was treated for NET cancer in 2016 and took nearly a year away from work to undergo five and a half months of chemotherapy, as well as surgery on his pancreas. He returned full-time to his job at the town at the beginning of March.
Neuroendocrine (or NET) tumors is an umbrella term for “a group of unusual cancers which develop from cells in the diffuse endocrine system,” according to the International Neuroendocrine Cancer Alliance. NETs affect people of any age and can be slow growing or aggressive.
“It’s kind of one of those rare ones that nobody hears about,” said Deans of his diagnosis, tentatively adding his latest appointment showed no signs of the disease.
“I’m not sure what to call it – currently I just had a scan recently and, at this point in time, there’s no cancer.”
As a way to give back to the community, Deans will participate along with four other cyclists from Cochrane – and up to 35 more from around the province – in the upcoming Cancervive Cycle Tour, a 616-kilometre riding adventure from Calgary to Banff and back on a route that takes the group through Foothill communities like Rocky Mountain House.
Every cyclist on the team has been touched by cancer: some, like Deans and fellow Cochranite John Clubb, have been diagnosed themselves, while others like town resident Peggy Brosens have watched friends and family members battle the beast.
“She’ll always be my inspiration and my motivation. She fought really, really hard,” Brosens said of her friend and neighbour Terri, who died of cancer in 2013. “For us to go up those hills and around those mountain passes, it won’t be easy … but we just have got to keep thinking about those people and we’ll just keep pedaling for them.”
In order to take part, riders have a goal to raise $3,000 each for Wellspring, an organization that provides a wide range of supports and services to people and families living with cancer.
Deans – who is currently the fundraising leader with $3,391 so far – said meeting people who were going through similar experiences to his own helped him push through the more difficult parts of his cancer journey.
“It certainly changes the perspective,” he said. “I just want to continue to raise as much money as I can for Wellspring and encourage people who still haven’t reached out to consider this as a very worthwhile cause to donate to.”
The 2017 Cancervive Cycling Tour makes stops in High River, Mount Kidd and more. Cochrane will be the penultimate stop – with cancer survivors’ friends and family encouraged to join participants on the last leg of the ride from here into Calgary.
Right now, 31 people are registered, and there is still room for nine more riders. Anyone interested in getting onto the team can register at cancervive.ca.
Brosens said it is a life-changing experience for anyone involved.
“There’s always a lot of emotions involved,” she said. “It’s one big family and everybody is there for the same reason.”
