THUNDER BAY - “Why wouldn’t I help?”
It’s the question many in the motorbiking community ask the day before Father’s Day at the Motorcycle Ride for Dad event.
By participating, Dan Coulter has been riding, and helping raise money for prostate cancer research for 14 years.
In its 19th installment, this year's Ride for Dad raised $76,676.
“The biker community is as generous as any community here in town,” he said.
Coulter was one of over 200 motorcyclists on hand to spend Saturday riding around town. Proceeds going to the Northern Cancer Fund to specifically help fund treatment, research, and patient education.
“It’s all about getting together once a year. People you don’t see from one year to the next, in from Dryden and Nipigon. It’s fantastic.”
Shortly after pleasantries are exchanged, bikers collectively rev their engines to signal the start of the ride.
“We call it the ‘roar for the cure.'"
Heather Vita, director of marketing and communications of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation says the event is paramount to supporting prostate cancer research in the region.
“We have a really incredible group of urologists here in Thunder Bay, and they are doing pioneering techniques.
“We have state of the art linear accelerators to provide radiation therapy, surgical techniques that can help remove cancer without damaging surrounding tissues.”
Vita said the event supports the cost of the research, while promoting awareness at the same time.
“It’s all about supporting the conversation about men’s health,” she said. “We want to support men to be healthy, and we want to make sure that if men are diagnosed with cancer, that they have the best chance to be healthy after the diagnosis.
