Life has an unpleasant tendency to throw a life-altering curveball once in a while.
When it throws several of them at once, it can leave a person feeling helpless and searching for reason.
Sundre-area resident Rebecca Trotter experienced such a circumstance in 2015 when cancer irreversibly rocked and changed her world to its core.
Her sister, Emma Dybka, was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer, although she was recently cleared following a mammogram. However, Trotter's sister-in-law MaryLynn Edinga succumbed following a long battle with multiple myeloma, and her best friend of 27 years, Russ Snaychuk, passed away from pancreatic cancer. He had recently turned 50 and thought he'd pulled a muscle following a round of golf. Doctors eventually diagnosed his condition and he died within months after withering away, she said.
"I had never experienced a death like that so close to me," said the 46-year-old.
"I was completely and utterly shattered by cancer last year. To lose somebody that close ó a pillar in my life ó was very traumatic," she said, adding she initially wondered what she could do to manage her grief.
Reflecting on her own lifestyle choices, she confessed not being in great shape. After wondering what would be the best way to pay tribute to her loved ones, she decided to cast hopelessness aside and committed to preparing herself mentally and physically for the eighth annual Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, which takes place in August.
It's a massive undertaking, she said about the two-day, 200-kilometre bike ride from Calgary's WinSport to Okotoks and back again, adding that the commitment represents a huge personal challenge.
"I haven't been on a bike in years," she said.
"I've done five-kilometre walks, but I've never done anything like this."
Nevertheless, she has already begun making new choices by giving up smoking and drinking, which she said has left her with more energy.
"I've done an exceptionally good job of changing my lifestyle. For an old rocker girl like me, raised in the '80s, I never thought there would ever be a day that I wouldn't smoke a cigarette or drink alcohol."
Now, she wants to turn her body "into a fat-burning athlete." So she's been riding her bike and walking around town as well as spending time at the Sundre Aquaplex indoor pool and fitness facility building up her endurance.
"There's an amazing amount of people in this community who work out," she said, adding, "I'm hanging out with people who inspire me."
As a former volunteer who worked on a past Ride to Conquer Cancer, Trotter said she was "blown away" by the "massive event" that has thousands of riders participating every year. Along the way, she met lots of people and heard many inspiring yet heart-wrenching stories.
"I couldn't believe the power of this event," she said.
But that was before her own personal experience with cancer. Just a few months later, her sister would be diagnosed with breast cancer and her life began to change course.
As a mother since she was 18, Trotter said the most challenging part of deciding to take on the Ride to Conquer Cancer has been convincing herself to take time out of each and every single day for herself.
She has also faced her own inner demons that cast doubts and lead us to second-guess ourselves, she said.
But she wants to prove those doubts wrong and finds herself motivated by the commitment she made to see the race through to its end. Once an athletic teenager who was the captain of a volleyball team as well as a competitive figure skater, Trotter knows she has what it takes.
"I remember what it's like to be that person, and I really want it back. All of these years I kept thinking, 'I want to be an athlete again'," she said.
"There's a point where you have to stop saying 'I want to do that' and just do it."
Also helping to motivate her are the memories of her loved ones who she wants to pay tribute to as best she can. Their deaths weren't for nothing, and the people they left behind will do what they can to cherish their memories, she said.
"I get to experience life every single day. They don't, and I have to honour them," she said.
Every day a person gets to wake up is a gift, so best make something of it by honouring yourself and your life by making different choices, she said.
"I never thought I'd be so determined, but I am."
Funds raised through the ride support cancer research, clinical trials, enhanced care and the discovery of new cancer therapies at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Cross Cancer Institute and 15 other centres across the province.
"The one thing I can do, the one thing I do have control over, is that I can help to raise money for the Alberta Cancer Foundation to best support other people and to support research," said Trotter.
Anyone who wants to contribute to her fundraising campaign can visit www.conquercancer.com, select the "Alberta" tab followed by the "Donate" tab and search her name.
Enduring the pain of losing someone close to cancer is "horribly excruciating", and her words of advice to anyone going through such a tribulation is to not hesitate to reach out to others for support.
Trotter's experience with cancer led her to question and realize what means the most to her in life.
"When faced with a loved one who is going to die, and there's nothing you can do about it, it really makes you think about ensuring that you show everybody that you care about them every single day."
Telling people to express their affection for those they love might be clichÈ, but it is nevertheless important, said Trotter, adding she does not want to let time slip past to the point where months go by before she catches up with close friends.
"Cherish the people in your lives, cherish yourself, cherish the life that you're given every single day."
People should also be sure to get screened for cancer regularly, as early detection is a major factor in cancer survival, she said.
April is the Ride to Conquer Cancer's Be Epic month, and Trotter has been keeping that in mind.
"It's really made me think about pushing my accomplishment even further to make sure I am being epic and that I'm living up to that name."
