RIDING FOR MY SISTER MALUSHA MARIE CHARLES
Held by Tereshka Gama-Pinto
Cypress Challenge 2024
4 supporters
4 days remaining
Malusha Marie was my sister. Through her brave four-year journey living with and undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, she became my hero and my inspiration for meeting every challenge in life with a positive outlook. Always upbeat, even with a heart-breaking diagnosis, Malusha nicknamed her tumour Hanky Panky. She was "the project" and her family, Andy, Brenna, Vicky, and Mitchell became the Hanky Panky Project Team researching, supporting, donating, prepping meals, attending appointments and everything in between.
Malusha's experience motivated me to start riding to raise money for cancer research. Biking long distances is a challenge for me, but whenever I'm tired or my muscles are cramping in fatigue, I think of what she used to say to herself during her chemo sessions: "Just keep swimming."
I'm going to keep riding and I hope that you will consider donating in memory of my sister and for everyone else on this journey.
On Sunday, July 28th, I will ride in the Capilano Volkswagen Cypress Challenge presented by GlotmanSimpson Cycling, to raise awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer research and care at BC Cancer.
Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver is a 723-metre climb over 12 kilometres with an average grade of 5.9%. The mountain is ranked #28 in Canada for biking difficulty but does not compare to the difficulties faced by those diagnosed and their families.
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death and projected to become the second leading cause of cancer death by 2030. We need to do everything we can to change these statistics and that's why I ride.
Tereshka