Yesterday, a friend shared that she was taking part in a challenge to walk 60km over 10 days to help raise money for cancer research. I was eager to sponsor, and later, joined in the challenge myself. If you can help and support in any way, I would really appreciate it. https://my.unitetofightcancer.org.au/irenee-chan
Here's why I want to take part...
It's been a tough few years after losing my dad to pancreatic cancer in 2017. I still have random and sudden waves of emotions and sadness flooding in. I get flashbacks all the time, seeing him happy, sad, angry and suffering. And he certainly suffered a lot. He had prostate cancer a few years before he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, too. Having one type of cancer in a person's lifetime is tough enough. He had two. In a way, I was relieved when he went to heaven, because it meant he would no longer suffer. My aunt, my dad's eldest sister, also passed away from pancreatic cancer. I never got to say goodbye. My mum's youngest brother passed away from leukemia and her dad from lung cancer. I never got to meet either of them. Cancer has affected both my mum and dad's family, and I am worried that even more of my relatives and family members will be diagnosed with it, and that I may one day suffer and die from cancer, too. You just never know...
I think that everyone personally knows at least one person who has suffered from cancer. It is one of the most common illnesses in the world and there is no real cure. It was painful watching my dad go through surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, knowing that none of these treatments were guaranteed to make him better. They just made him feel worse. He even tried stem cell treatment, but that didn't work either.
I pray that one day, there would be a cure, and that families around the world would no longer fear losing their loved ones to this dreadful illness. I pray that one day, hearing the word 'cancer' would not leave us feeling helpless and hopeless, and we would have more treatment options than injecting poison into our bodies. Even though my dad and my aunt were not able to get better treatment or a cure, I pray that someday others would and that if anyone else in my family ever gets diagnosed with cancer, they would get the best treatment possible. No one wants this to happen to their loved ones.
When my friend shared her sponsor page with me, I was eager to support. When I read more about the event, I wanted to join in, too. I haven't been particularly active over the last couple of months and I know I'm not the fittest or healthiest person. I rarely exercise and have poor sleeping habits. Although I did keep up with walking and jogging almost daily from April to June, I completely lost motivation during the summer. I really needed motivation and a goal to work towards. This challenge seemed perfect. I could walk for a good cause and do something to honour my dad and my aunt.
After signing up to the challenge, I walked for 30 minutes this morning and covered 3.4 km. If I can do around 6 km a day for 10 days, I think it is definitely doable! Walking for 60 minutes isn't too bad! I can't wait to start in this challenge! Tomorrow, I will work my way up to 60 minutes!
I would really appreciate your support and donation, however small, (even as little as $2) for this cause. If you are unable to sponsor, you can help by sharing it, or even supporting with a few kind words of encouragement! I need all the support and encouragement to complete this challenge!
Will you unite with me to fight cancer or join in the challenge? You can sponsor here: https://my.unitetofightcancer.org.au/irenee-chan
Learn more about the challenge: https://unitetofightcancer.org.au/
All donations made go directly towards the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation - one of the world’s leading cancer research, education and treatment centres globally and is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer. They have over 2,500 staff, including more than 580 laboratory and clinical researchers, all focused on providing better treatments, better care and potential cures for cancer. Peter Mac’s research impacts people with all types of cancer around the globe. With your support, they can bring hope to even more people.
Find out more about Peter Mac here: https://www.petermac.org/
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