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Riding for a Reason: The NB Ride Against Cancer, featuring Sandra Melanson · People of The Moncton Hospital

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, friends.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Catherine Robertson, Director of Community and Strategic Initiatives at the Friends Foundation, and I'll be your host today.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: This month we're shining a light on the New Brunswick Ride Against Cancer.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's an annual cycling fundraiser organized by Friends Foundation and the Chou Dumont Foundation to help people live better with cancer.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Why?
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, 95 New Brunswickers are diagnosed with cancer each week.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's 95 people who hear you have cancer.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Funds raised through the RIDE support Wellspring NB, which provides non-medical cancer support programs at no cost without referral to not only people living with cancer, but also to their family and caregivers.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to get into the more about the RIDE and Wellspring NB in the next few minutes.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: But in the meantime, let's get on with the podcast.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Today's podcast is very special to me.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: I am joined by an incredible person, Sandra Melanson.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I think our audience will agree with me by the end of this podcast.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: They'll also understand what makes this podcast so special.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: So let's get into it.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Sandra.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for joining us.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: So let's start at the beginning.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: How did you first hear about the NB Ride Against Cancer and how did you get involved?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: I first heard about the ride from colleagues and friends who have participated as riders or have volunteered in the past.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the idea of participating in something that provides support to a local community like New Brunswick and specifically for cancer patients and their caregivers.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now, for those of you who are not familiar, let's talk about the NB Ride Against Cancer for a moment.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you're an avid cyclist or simply somebody who enjoys getting out on your bike, or even if you're not on a bike, there's other ways to fundraise.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: There's many ways to be part of the ride.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: You can solo cycle.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: That means just a cycle when you feel like it, where you feel like it, the distance.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: You can join on ride day, which is coming up on September 26th, choosing either a 10 kilometer, 30 kilometer, or 70 kilometer route that we have designed going along the riverfront trail.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Now, there's also a group of cyclists called the Dr.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Herbs Elite Cyclist Ride, where 30 cyclists just last month over four days cycled over 600 kilometers.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I get this, podcast listeners, they cycle, I know, right?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a minimum average of 28 kilometers per hour.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Crazy, crazy.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: And they fundraise the whole time.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: So they're it's cycling based, but they're fundraising.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Accompanying them as a member of the volunteer team is also no small feat.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: So what made you to want to get involved as a volunteer with Dr.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Herb's Elite Cyclist ride?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I was inspired by these cyclists.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I can't even imagine doing that and um cycling, as you said, a minimum of 28 kilometers.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: I can't even, and cycling over 200 kilometers a day, it just blows my mind.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'd have to pack a lunch in order to do that.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I got inspired by these people, and I love the fact that they're raising funds for Wellspring, which is obviously a program that I've participated in.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I wanted to participate, and if I can't participate as an elite cyclist, what other way could I participate?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So being a volunteer was a way that I could do that and give back.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: You were someone who had never experienced the elite cyclist ride.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: What is it actually like to be part of those four days?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: What stands out most when you look back at that experience?
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's not that the four days itself, we plan months and months in advance.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you can just well imagine how much work goes in to have such an amazing elite group cycling across the province over four days.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of planning involved.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, we have to have an amazing leader.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Verna's that amazing leader.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: She makes sure everything runs as it should.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, shout out to Verna.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Verna's the best.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I thought I'm gonna get involved in this, help Verna out as much as that I can.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, I didn't realize how physical the volunteering part would be.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, lugging those cases of water in and out of the trucks, the cases of Gatorade, putting the tents up, taking the tents down for every single pit stop.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Physically, that's a lot of work, but it's a ton of fun.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: We always have a ton of laughs.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and when you see the elite riders coming in, it's just you can't, it's hard to explain the feeling of accomplishment on their part, but I'm so proud to be able to help them, nourish them, hydrate them, and get them on their way again.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm also the most memorable part for me is the friends, the patients that are currently going through cancer, cancer survivors, friends of cancer survivors that come up to us as we're setting these tents up, as the cyclists are coming in and sharing their stories.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, that means so much.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's it hits me at an emotional part.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I just love it.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's volunteering with some emotion, isn't it?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: It definitely is.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Now, shortly after you return from the elite ride last year, your life took a turn.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: How so?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, one week after the ride last year, um, I guess maybe I should back up just a little bit.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, right before the ride last year, I had found a lump and then I went in to have it um, I had an additional mammogram and ultrasound and had it biopsied.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: All of that was kind of going on in the background while I was volunteering.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: And one week after the ride, I found out that I actually have breast cancer.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so when you say that you learned you had breast cancer, we need to just take a step back a little bit and share with our podcast listeners today a little bit about your day job.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: My day job, yes, how I pay the bills.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I am a pharmaceutical representative for a large pharmaceutical company here in Canada, and I work specifically in oncology, and I cover Atlanta, Canada, and I go speak to physicians, nurses, healthcare providers around specifically oncology, and depending on the tumor site that I'm working with, I would speak to different physicians depending on that area that I'm covering.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Would that also include breast cancer?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: I did actually work in breast cancer right before I got diagnosed, uh, which was good and bad, because I certainly have the knowledge, and when you have the knowledge, I think that's a good thing.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I was able to have conversations with my healthcare team.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was very knowledgeable about staging, about uh what type of breast cancer I had, and sometimes it's a bit scary because I know what the prognosis can go from there as well.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: So your career is with an oncology pharmaceutical company, and you go from volunteering with Dr.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: Herb's Elite Cyclist Ride to joining Ride Day, more on that.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: You're now fundraising as a participant on one of the Wellspring Warrior teams, and in between all of this, you're one of the 95 New Brunswickers who heard you have cancer that week.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: How has your perspective on the MB ride against cancer changed?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's totally changed.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I never thought in a million years when I signed up last year that the money that we were all raising that I would actually feel the impact personally.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: I would actually go to Wellspring and become a participant.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: I never thought that would ever happen.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I now know what Wellsprings is about and the support and connection and friendship that I've gotten from Wellspring has been it's changed my cancer journey.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: So let's let's get into that a little bit.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: When exactly did Wellspring and become part of your cancer journey?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: April of this year.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: And what programs or support have you found particularly meaningful at Wellspring and what difference have they made for you?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um I participated in the 12-week exercise program.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: I found that to be very helpful and helped me gain muscle strength back, as well as to help ease some of the side effects of both radiation and the targeted therapy that I'm still currently taking.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I found the exercise program was tailor-made specifically for me and what I was going through at that time.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I also met tons of people that were either ahead of my journey or people that were maybe just starting out in their journey.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we would just sit and sometimes we would cry, and sometimes we would just chat.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: But obviously we still exercise, but I think it was the connection and the friendship more so with the exercise program that I really enjoyed.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've met some really great people and we're still friends to this day, which has been amazing.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, also, the other program that I really enjoyed was the restorative yoga program.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: That really helped de stress my anxiety and very calming, and I love that program.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to participate again in a couple more weeks.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, awesome.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Good for you.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: So now your connection to the ride really has come full circle.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: So you and other Wellspring members have created teams for Ride Day.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: You the Wellspring Warriors.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: So the teams are of four, and there are four teams, 16 participants in all.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: How did the idea start?
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: It actually started by one of our fellow members at Wellspring, um, Lisa Calhoun, and she's an amazing, amazing um advocate for Wellspring.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: And when she came up with the idea, I was like, let's jump on board, and everybody else around us.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: It was like we all want to support Wellspring and give back to the organization that'd given so much to us.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: What does it mean to you now that you're on a bike, raising money for programs and services that you have personally experienced?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um I love the fact that I'm able to give back.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: I give back to a community, give back to Wellspring, um, because it's providing these programs for people that are going through uh cancer, but also their caregivers.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've seen firsthand what a caregiver goes through.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: My husband has been an amazing caregiver and supported me throughout this journey, and there's programs for for supporting him as well, which is amazing.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: So, and that's something that's important uh for people to know if they have had a recent cancer diagnosis, or as you say, a caregiver or a loved one, because for the can't person who is you know battling the cancer and who's in the fight, there's timelines and appointments and follow-ups and medications and resources.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: But for those who are not there, who are supporting the person who's fighting the cancer, that's less so.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:53
  unknown: Yeah.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: I said to my husband as we were traveling uh two appointments this week, I said, You've got to be done with this too, because I'm done with this.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And he goes, I will be here.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter for how long we will go through this together.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: But it's got to be hard on them.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: I can't imagine it not be.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: So what do you want people uh who are considering making a donation to the MB ride against cancer to know?
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I would um encourage people to make a donation that the money stays right here in New Brunswick.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And even if they could share on social media, because that makes a difference as well, bring awareness to what the ride is all about, what Wellspring is all about, and it will showcase the fact that Wellsprings provides support to both patients like myself going through the cancer journey, but as well for the caregivers and families as well.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've know firsthand how helpful Wells Springs has been on my cancer journey, and I would encourage people to make a donation if they can.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: So now you've experienced the MB ride against cancer as a volunteer, a fundraiser, a participant, and someone who's personally benefited from Wellspring.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: When you think about ride day coming up on September 26th, what do you think that moment is going to mean to you?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's not like riding on the bike for me per se.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what it is for me.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: What it is for me is actually regaining my strength, reclaiming my independence, getting my life back, um, and also providing my experience and providing hope to other people that are just starting on this journey.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's what it is for me.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a way to give back to a community that that's provided me nothing but support, um, strength and connection.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I want people to know that they don't have to go through this cancer journey alone, that there is a place called Wellspring that will help them go through this journey.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for being here today and for sharing your story.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Your journey really brings the purpose of the MB Ride Against Cancer full circle.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: I think we can't say that enough.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of full circle moments here.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: So every kilometer ridden and every dollar raised for the MB Ride Against Cancer helps make it possible for people living with cancer and their caregivers to find support, connection, and community through Wellspring NB.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: So whether you want to solo cycle, or you can join us on Ride Day, September 26th.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: You can support a cyclist, simply make a donation.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: There's a way for everyone to be part of the ride.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: So ride day participants are required to register and raise a minimum of$250.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: For all the details about the NB Ride Against Cancer, how to register, how to get involved, how to donate, visit nbcancerride.ca.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to another episode of the People of the Moncton Hospital podcast.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see you next time.