Ride for Dad hits the road in Kingston to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer research
One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and hundreds of bikers joined the fight in Kingston at the annual Ride for Dad on Saturday, hoping to help find a cure.
After his father died from complications from the disease, and with his brother in remission, it is a cause that hits close to home for motorcyclist Mark Harding.
"It’s very debilitating. I saw my brother, 6 ft. 2 inches whittle away to about 170 pounds," Harding says. "And to watch him whittle away like that was hard to take."
The Canadian Cancer Society says prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. One in eight men will be diagnosed in their lifetime, and those who have a family history are among the most at risk.
Harding says it is about preventing other families from going through the same thing.
"Prostate cancer touches everyone; whether it’s a friend, a brother."
The Ride for Dad events take place across Canada. It first started in Ottawa back in 2000.
Kingston was the second city to host a Ride for Dad, and it has raised more than $1.6 million since it started back in 2004.
The tens of thousands raised on Saturday will add to the more than $37 million the Ride for Dad events have raised for prostate cancer research in Canada.
Linda Galloway, the national project specialist for Ride for Dad, says it’s also about awareness and having men get checked.
"Early detection is key in survival," she explains. "It’s so important we’re not in a corner talking quietly about prostate cancer; we need to be shouting it from the rooftops."
Rider Trevor Hughes agrees, noting his father-in-law is a survivor.
"Talk to anybody, talk to your wife, especially talk to your doctor," he says.
This is the third province he has joined a Ride for Dad event. The kilometres raced today through downtown Kingston and up past Westport will add to those he’s ridden over the years to raise money.
He says it is also about joining fellow riders in the fight.
"I love it," he says. "I love to ride and you meet excellent people on this ride."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
German men with the strongest fingers compete in Bavaria's 'Fingerhakeln' wrestling championship
Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, over 150 Bavarian men came together Sunday to compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling.
Flash floods in northern Afghanistan sweep away livelihoods, leaving hundreds dead and missing
The UN food agency estimated that unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have left more than 300 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed, most of them in the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of the deluges Friday.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
4th Indian national arrested, charged with murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Homicide investigators in B.C. say murder charges have been laid against a fourth Indian national in connection to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara last year.
RCMP boss expresses desire for new law to deal with threats against politicians
RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme says he wants the government to look at drafting a new law that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials.