07/19/2026
🎀 Why do we do what we do for cancer research?
We do it in the hope that one day no one will lose a sister to breast cancer, a father to colon cancer, a brother to pancreatic cancer, a mother to uterine cancer, a friend to sarcoma, an aunt to brain cancer, or an uncle to lung cancer.
We all have our own personal reasons because, sadly, there aren’t many people who haven’t been affected by cancer in one way or another.
My reason is where this all began.
She wasn’t supposed to die. Breast cancer wasn’t supposed to be a death sentence… or so I thought.
My sister was 52 when she died. Fifty-two.
She lived life boldly and far from home. From the Yukon to Saskatchewan, Labrador, and beyond, she became a little bit of everything to so many people through her work as a social worker in remote communities. She had found her calling and lived it beautifully alongside her wonderful wife and their house full of dogs and cats. She was the person everyone gathered around at family get-togethers, and she could hold court just about anywhere.
She was also the one who held my hand and told me her greatest fear was that she would die and be forgotten.
I made her a promise.
That would never happen.
The Walk for Cancer that we joined the year she was diagnosed eventually evolved into The Romp, where we now stand with hundreds of sisters and brothers as we honour and remember so many who fought, and who continue to fight.
Now, we do it for all of them. We do it for ourselves.
For one night, we celebrate the people we love. We lean on one another. We dance with strangers who become friends because we share something no one ever wants to share—love, loss, hope, and remembrance.
It’s a sisterhood like no other.
I lost my only sibling…
…and in the process, I found so many more. 💕
