Drugs and surgery helped Estelle De Jager conquer cancer two years ago.
But her bicycle helped her heal.
May 5, De Jager will be astride her road bike at the Wheel2Heal ride to support the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation so others may get the tools and treatment to heal as well.
De Jager and her family were already well acquainted with the services the Port Moody hospital provides to more than 100,000 patients annually as her sons often had to go to the emergency department for injuries they sustained playing lacrosse and football.
That familiarity sparked De Jager to first saddle up four years ago for the 40-km trail ride that is one of Wheel2Heal’s many riding options. But her diagnosis of Stage 3B breast cancer in 2016 made her need to ride hit home intimately.
The foundation’s executive director, Charlene Giovannetti-King said that kind of personal connection has proven a motivator for people to participate in its major annual fundraiser, which pulls in about $150,000 to $175,000 for equipment and programs.
“They want to give back, they’re grateful,” Giovannetti-King said. “It’s very emotional.”
“I didn’t realize how much they do at this little hospital,” De Jager said of the care and compassion she received at Eagle Ridge after her doctor broke the news to her.
But, De Jager discovered, the hospital has its limits. When she decided she wanted both her breasts reconstructed at the same time with bilateral flap surgery, she was informed Eagle Ridge didn’t have the capacity to perform the gruelling operation, which can take 10 to 14 hours.
“I thought, wouldn’t it be great to have the surgery here,” she said.
The procedure was performed successfully at Vancouver General but, De Jager said, the proximity of Eagle Ridge to her Coquitlam home became indispensable for follow-up care as she endured several infections.
“It felt like your second home."
Before her surgery, the active 50-year-old, who also hikes, kayaks and does yoga, enrolled in a study to determine the benefits of exercise during chemotherapy treatment. She got her cocktail of drugs on Fridays, endured nausea and vomiting all weekend, then got on her bike for 30-km jaunts across the Port Mann bridge to Surrey and back three days a week beginning on Tuesdays. It wasn’t easy as the side effects of the drugs sapped her strength and endurance.
“I was just so driven and I wanted to do it,” De Jager said, adding the fitness she built up during that difficult time likely helped her recover better from her surgery. “I think it was what kept me going.”
Last year, De Jager decided to reward herself and smooth her summertime commute to her job in Vancouver with a new, lightweight Cannondale road bike.
This year, she’s stepping up her commitment to Wheel2Heal by signing on for the 100-km road ride, even though the cool, rainy spring weather has made training difficult.
But De Jager is not allowing herself to get discouraged by the incessant gloom.
“Up until you have a life event like that, once that happens you realize just how fragile you are,” she said. “You want to live every day like it’s your last.”
• For more information about Wheel2Heal, including riding options and course maps, as well as links to register or pledge support, go to www.wheel2heal.ca.
