Nearly two years ago, after his beloved wife Ella died of ovarian cancer, Jim Kwan was lost.
Nothing — not time, counselling, or the love for his two grown daughters Megan and Rachel — kept the growing sense of loneliness at bay.
Ella’s passing was the latest in a series of personal tragedies to hammer the Kwan family. Jim’s parents had both succumbed to cancer in 2011 and 2012.
To honour them, Kwan had made a donation to the BC Cancer Foundation, a gesture to help fight a disease that, according to health statistics, will now claim the lives of one in four Canadians. One in two can expect to be diagnosed with cancer.
When Ella died in 2015, “I thought to myself, ‘I can do more than that,” Kwan said.
Even in the final throes of her battle with cancer, when Ella was quite ill and weak, friends and family would come to visit and she would end up helping them with their issues and problems, Kwan said.
The Steveston resident is the self-described no-nonsense “business guy” of the clan.
“She was the listener, I’m the doer,” Kwan said. “We made a good team.”
So following Ella’s death, when the aching loss would not subside, Kwan decided to join another team. Rather than just open his wallet to honour Ella, he wanted to follow her lead and offer support.
In 2016, he signed up for the BC Cancer Foundation’s annual Ride to Conquer Cancer, which promotes awareness of the disease and raises funds for research.
The event sees thousands of participants cycle more than 200 kilometres from Vancouver to Seattle over two days. It is the province’s largest cycling fundraiser.
Since 2009, the Ride to Conquer Cancer presented by Silver Wheaton has helped raise more than $77 million for the BC Cancer Foundation. Last year, B.C. riders brought in $7.1 million.
While Kwan says he’s somewhat athletic, he had never attempted such a physically demanding feat.
But he succeeded, and his team raised more than $38,000 for the cause, with Kwan personally bringing in close to $17,000.
But something more remarkable than money happened on that ride.
Kwan, so broken by grief at the outset, began to find solace among his fellow cyclists. During breaks and on the evening of the first leg of the trek, he would sit with those who had also lost loved ones to cancer and listen to their stories.
For the first time in a long time, he felt a deep connection. “It really changed my life,” Kwan said, his voice struggling with emotion. “After (Ella) passed away, we really went through a lot. Now I know I’m not alone.”
This year, Kwan, his daughters, his sister and brother-in-law, and many other family members and friends are riding again in the Aug. 26-27 fundraiser. The group is called Team Ohana.
In Hawaii, which Ella loved, Ohana means family, “and family means never being forgotten or left behind,” Kwan explained.
He says being a part of the cancer ride allows him to honour Ella. What he didn’t expect was some healing for himself.
“The ride changed… not just my well-being,” Kwan said. “It changed everything.”
A fundraiser for the Ride to Conquer Cancer and Team Ohana is set for Saturday, July 8 from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Buck & Ear Bar and Grill, 1211 3 Ave. There will be a live band (Urban Myth, which includes two of Team Ohana’s riders), a silent auction and 50/50 draw. For those who can’t attend, donations can be made online at Bit.ly/2tvjtPq
