Riding into the future
with memories of the past

As if losing his wife, Katrina, to cancer were not painful enough, Alister Moore remains mindful of the irony that she was taken by lung cancer, even though she was a non-smoker. But the memory of Katrina’s brave struggle has only strengthened Mr. Moore’s resolve to participate this July in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.

The cross-country ride through southern Quebec will be the third for Mr. Moore, who was among the dozen relatives and friends on Team Kat, which raised roughly $40,000 at last summer’s event. Heading the team is Katrina’s brother, Gregory Desmarais. “It’s our way of doing something really significant to support cancer research,” adds Mr. Moore.

Mr. Moore says his wife was first diagnosed in October 2012 with lung cancer “which apparently can occur spontaneously in young women, for no reason.” Normally, the prognosis calls for a life expectancy of about four months, but a wider range of treatment options was available for Katrina’s particular type of cancer, thanks to research.

The disease was controlled until January 2014, Mr. Moore recalls, but then the cancer was discovered to have metastasized to her brain, rendering her original treatment ineffective. Despite a course of radiation and chemotherapy, Katrina passed away in August 2014.

Mr. Moore says he’s already preparing for this summer’s ride, but “I’m planning to do most of my training indoors, because I’m a single father of three little girls, so it’s hard to get out. But as the weather gets better, I’ll be biking to work.”

Getting together with friends in Katrina’s honour is something he’s looking forward to, “but it can be such an emotional event for so many people. It feels good to meet them and talk to them while we ride, and to come away realizing that we’ve really made a difference.”