For James McLellan, long-distance cycling is not only a way to raise money to fight cancer, it's a form of salvation.
McLellan is a member of the Wheelin' Warriors, a group of more than 50 local riders whose aim is to participate in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a more-than 200-kilometre trip from Vancouver to Seattle this August.
But a mere five years ago, cycling was the furthest thing from his mind.
Now 52 years old, he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer that also involved his liver. The rate of survival for that kind of ailment is just six per cent.
He was given the option of dying with dignity or go through treatment.
"I chose to fight with everything I had," McLellan said this week.
That McLellan makes a living as a dosimetrist - a member of the radiation oncology team responsible for the planning side of the treatments - played into his decision.
He was also living in Doha, Qatar at the time.
"I was part of the system there so I was kind of an insider and at a very wealthy clinic so I did have all the care that you would expect from any westernized country, so I was very lucky," McLellan said.
Part of his liver and ascending colon were removed and he endured six months of chemotherapy.
As he was going through the sessions, he read a book about champion cyclist Lance Armstrong's well-known battle with advanced testicular cancer. McLellan recognized Armstrong as a "fellow patient" and started sending messages to him. Armstrong responded.
"I got some urging from him, let's put it that way," McLellan said. "And when I could finally walk again, I bought a bicycle and my goal was just to ride my bike between lamp posts in the street."
He's now up to a level where he once rode from Ottawa to Montreal in a day.
He averaged about 30 km/h over the 265-kilometre trip.
"It bloomed and I fell in love with the bike and with everything that went around it, all the causes," McLellan said.
"I rode with the Livestrong people for awhile, trying to get the word out there that cancer's not a death sentence, you can beat it."
All the controversy over Armstrong's use of performance enhancing drugs aside, he's been a big inspiration to many people. Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation has raised over $500 million to aid cancer survivors, McLellan noted.
"He did what he felt he had to do to give to that cause as well as winning in his own right. I'm giving him a pass on all the things that happened after that," McLellan said with a laugh.
McLellan now rides for at least an hour a day and often as many as four, traveling as much as 120 kilometres at a time.
He's convinced the activity, combined with a healthy diet and a good frame of mind, have helped him ward off a return of the cancer.
"The unfortunate thing is I have a genetic predisposition for cancer," McLellan said. "And that generally doesn't manifest unless some of the risk factors are applied to that.
"So maybe eating the wrong foods, sitting on the couch and watching TV, bad psychology, all to the things around that could help the cancer to re-manifest."
When he finished treatment, McLellan was a vegan for a year and continues to be a vegetarian.
"I'm trying to keep all the poisons out of my body," he said.
McLellan personifies almost everything the ride stands for in the opinion of Wheelin' Warriors team captain Karin Piche.
"He puts a face to what we're doing because most of us riders are not cancer survivors," Piche said. "We've been affected by cancer through our loved ones and family members."
Either way, McLellan is now enjoying a second lease on life.
"It sounds funny but the flowers smell better and I stop at night and I look up and I see the stars and I appreciate it," McLellan said.
"I'm so happy with my life and the little things make a big difference."
To participate in the ride each Wheelin' Warriors must raise $2,500. Their main fundraising event is a dinner, dance, silent auction and 50-50 draw set for Sat., April 30 at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
More information can be found at the group's Facebook page, by emailing Piche at [email protected] or calling her at 250-617-1507.
