Odette Pepper will never forget the shock of being told that her cancer had returned and she only had two years to live.
“I was crushed,” said the Port Coquitlam mother of four. “I felt like I had been hit by a semi.”
The 48-year-old Pepper, who had gone through a unilateral mastectomy three years earlier, said she immediately fell into a deep depression.
But after several weeks and another visit to a different oncologist, she said she was able to emerge more determined than ever to prove her doctors wrong.
That was back in 2011.
Five years later, Pepper is gearing up for her fourth Ride To Conquer Cancer, a 200-km, two-day cycling event that raises money for the BC Cancer Foundation.
“If you do five years, you get a gold helmet,” she said, smiling in the living room of her Pitt River Road home.
Several treatments had been tried and abandoned over the years until she found a chemo medication that has been consistently reducing the size of her tumours since she started taking it. She was able to go back to work in 2012 and rode in her first Ride To Conquer Cancer event in 2013.
“The first year, I rode for myself,” Pepper said. “I wanted to prove that I could do it.”
After that, she said, the annual rides became more about helping others and giving back to the BC Cancer Foundation, an organization she credits with helping find a treatment that worked for her.
“They keep coming up with new drugs all of the time,” she said. “It keeps people like me here longer. Twenty years ago, we would have been dead.”
As a cancer survivor, Pepper will be one of hundreds of riders with a yellow flag attached to her bike. She said there are a lot of yellow flags at the events and it is a good opportunity to meet other people who have faced similar struggles.
As someone who has been dealing with a diagnosis since 2008, Pepper frequently finds herself speaking to those dealing with cancer for the first time. With all of her experience, she believes she can offer important support and encouragement to those beginning the treatment process.
“I just find that when I come across other people with cancer diagnosis, I feel I can help them now,” she said. “I am in a better frame of mind.”
Pepper will be participating in this year’s ride with the Cap’s Westwood Cycle team, which is made up of 24 cyclists. She is hoping to raise $5,000 as an individual and the group is hoping to raise $70,000 total.
THE RIDE
The Ride To Conquer Cancer, a two-day 200-km ride from Vancouver to Seattle, will be taking place in Vancouver Aug. 27 and 28. This will be the eighth year that the ride has been held and, to date, it has raised $70 million for the BC Cancer Foundation. Last year, 2,087 riders raised $8.4 million.
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