Pedalling to raise funds for cancer care

For southern Ontario resident Troy Dowhaniuk, the love he had for his beloved canine, Kaos, has propelled him to bike across Canada to raise funds for Toronto SickKids Hospital.

On Nov. 8, 2013, Dowhaniuk was told 10-year old Kaos had cancer, and that she had maybe two weeks to live.

“I was there when Kaos was born, spent time with her every day, and loved her very much,” he said. “Needless to say, this news devastated me. I spent the next four weeks feeding her by hand to try and keep her strength up, and staying by her side to make sure she wasn't suffering.

“We went for our usual walks, did everything the same, only now I knew that with her, every step could be the last. She never once suffered until the morning of Dec. 8. When I woke up and went to her, I immediately knew that this was her last day. That day she never left my arms and eventually died in them.”

Dowhaniuk said this was his first real exposure to cancer.

“It made me realize just how awful it was, and it changed my view on a lot of things,” he said, during a brief stop in Sudbury on July 31, en route to St. John's, Nfld.

Dowhaniuk has spent a lot of time in the Muskokas, where he ran a restaurant. One day, while looking out over the water and reflecting on how he has been pretty lucky in life, it dawned on him that he wanted to do something to help others.

“I've been surrounded by some really amazing people, and that's when it all clicked, that I wanted to take time to myself to do something for people. I thought, 'Why not help kids with cancer?' Kids aren't getting the opportunity to grow up and make choices in life. That's what inspired me.”

That's when Projects That Matter came into the picture. Dowhaniuk is on a coast-to-coast bicycle tour of Canada from Tofino, B.C., to St. John's, Nfld, to raise money for the cancer care centre of the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. His goal is $50,000.

He started planning nine months ago, took a leave of absence from work, made his way to Tofino and started his bike journey June 1. He made it to Sudbury on July 31, just past the half-way mark. He plans to finish at the end of September.

The fundraising has been slow but steady, he said.

“I'm not quite where I want to be yet, but I'm hoping now that I'm in Ontario, donations will start piling in. Realistically, I only need to meet 1,000 people who are willing to part with $50, and I should be able to do that in a country as big as Canada.

“The trip has been going amazing, and I've been able to meet so many awesome people. The winds are probably the lowest point of the trip. In the prairies, I had to bike through head winds, and in northeastern Ontario, it was one hill after another.”

For more information about Dowhaniuk's cause, or to donate to Sick Kids, visit projectsthatmatter.ca, or follow his progress by searching his name on Facebook.