Skip to content

Riding for Dad

Bikers have always been the tough guys on the block, the manliest of men around. But they also have a soft side, at least in Thunder Bay.
142797_634389101247787892
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation spokeswoman Tracie Smith. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)
Bikers have always been the tough guys on the block, the manliest of men around.

But they also have a soft side, at least in Thunder Bay.

It’s just a little tough to draw it out, sometimes, especially when it comes to discussing delicate issues like prostate cancer.

“Being a male we’re very proud,” says Larry Otway, a prostate cancer survivor, captured on a video launched on Wednesday at the kickoff to the 11th annual Motorcycle Ride for Dad, which in 10 years has raised more than $630,000 to fight the disease through the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.

“I was kind of ashamed to tell people what I had. I guess it was just the male part of me.”

Duncan Jamieson, another survivor, said it’s not taboo to talk about prostate cancer any more, nor is it taboo to talk about the detection test.

“But it is taboo to talk about the after-treatment,” he said.

The effects of the disease and treatment are front and centre in most men’s minds – leaky bladders and impotence being the two main ones most are worried about. That’s where the discussion gets tricky, he said.

“Most of the guys I have talked to, they kind of beat around the bush. ‘Does everything still work?’”

Awareness, which has flourished locally thanks to the well-known Prostate Man campaign, is key to convincing men to take the test, said Barry Midgley, who supported the ride for years before being diagnosed with the disease himself in 2004.

Glenn Craig, president and CEO of the Hospital Foundation, said they’re doing what they can to remove the taboos.
 
“We’ve been really trying to make men comfortable talking about things below our belts,” Craig said.

It’s not news anyone wants to hear, but it’s vital they do, said yet another biker.

“The fact is, if you’re diagnosed with prostate cancer, you have to deal with it. The faster you deal with it, the better for everyone,” he said.

“It’s not just your cancer, it’s a family and friends’ cancer because everyone’s involved,” his wife Barb said.

The money raised at the June 18 event will stay local, and has never been more needed, said foundation spokeswoman Tracie Smith.

“One in seven men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime,” she said on Wednesday at a registration luncheon held at the Keg Restaurant.

“In Northwestern Ontario rates are highest in the province. In Thunder Bay, the incidence of prostate cancer is expected to rise by 67 per cent by 2014. That’s just around the corner.”

Since 2001, when the ride was first held, the funds collected have helped cover costs of an awareness campaign, research and the purchase of specialized equipment, including a commitment to buy an $111,450 MR-guided prostate biopsy system.

It’s leading-edge equipment like this that is making detection easier for oncologists at the hospital.

“Sometimes it’s really the luck of the draw. They go in and take six or seven samples,” Craig said. “Sometimes they get it, sometimes they don’t.”

Registration for the ride, which will feature a breakfast, a silent auction and the traditional Roar for the Cure, will begin with a pre-registration barbecue on May 7 at Halfway Motors.

The top 10 participants with the most pledges will win prizes, while early registrants who sign up before June 3 are eligible to win a prize package that includes a weekend for two at the Victoria Inn and the privilege of announcing the start of the rally.
 



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
Read more



push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks