For anyone considering the idea of taking part in a fundraiser aimed at fighting cancer, Emrie Strohschein has this to say.“My message would be that, until cancer lands in your lap, which it has in a very significant way, it's very easy to ignore fundraisers of this type. And I have done that in the past. But until it lands in your lap and becomes a reality, we need to support these kinds of causes. They are very worthy, very worthy causes. I encourage everyone to find a way to support these programs when they can.”Cancer fell into Strohschein's lap hard last fall.In September, his wife Marlaine started to have symptoms such as back pain and jaundice that pushed her to have a colon scan performed.The scan revealed cancer in her colon, Strohschein said, and a CT scan a few days later revealed spots on her liver and lungs.“At that time the doctors advised that her diagnosis was cancer and the only response was palliative care because it was so far advanced,” he said.On top of this, his brother Steven, 61, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer on Dec. 16.One day later, Marlaine died at the age of 60.“So we were facing quite a bit of adversity all at the same time,” Strohschein said, adding his brother-in-law had a cancerous cyst removed from kidneys in the same time period.When asked how he coped during this dark time in his life, Strohschein, who has a daughter and a son, said faith pulled his family through.“We have a strong faith in God. We trust in God to give us strength through all this and He has. He has really sustained all of us. Our whole family.”Strohschein said he and Marlaine would have been married 25 years in March and her death “leaves a void that no one can fill in the same way.”“Memories of her are everywhere,” he said. “ Every day is an adjustment as we carry on life without her. We lost a wife, mother, sister, aunt, cousin, niece and friend to many.”Once spring arrived, Strohschein, 61, who lives just north of Olds, started thinking about taking part in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, which raises money for the Alberta Cancer Foundation and directly supports patients and families at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton and 15 other cancer centres throughout the province.He had recently bought a new street bicycle and he said he had thought about taking part in the ride last year, but didn't follow through.This year, however, he had a great deal of motivation to participate.“I wanted to do something in memory of Marlaine, my wife, as well as to support my brother, Steve, in his treatment of colorectal cancer,” Strohschein said, adding his father also passed away from lung and throat cancer in 1997.He also said he works for Pengrowth Energy and when he learned his company was putting together a team for the ride, he jumped at the chance.The 200-kilometre bicycle ride takes place on August 9 and 10 and starts at Calgary's Canada Olympic Park.Riders trek to Okotoks, stay overnight there and then return to Calgary.Each rider must raise a minimum of $2,500 in donations and Strohschein said Pengrowth will match all the monies its employees raise for the ride.Strohschein has currently collected $15,600 in donations from family and friends since June, beating his goal of $15,000 with three weeks to go until the ride.He said along with his fundraising activities ahead of the ride, he is training by cycling 30 kilometres to and from work every day on top of the 50 to 100 kilometres he rides daily on his own time.So far this year, Strohschein has cycled 3,000 kilometres in preparation.He is all smiles when asked if he's looking forward to the ride.“It's going to be an amazing experience for me, there's going to be thousands of cyclists in this ride,” Strohschein said.Anyone wishing to support Strohschein with a donation can visit conquercancer.ca, click on Alberta, fill in Strohschein's name and follow the prompts.He can also be reached at 403-507-5144, [email protected] or [email protected] for anyone wanting to donate by [email protected]
