This October, I’m getting back on my bike for a cause that means a great deal to me: fighting kids’ cancer.

The last time I was able to Ride for Kids Cancer was in Canada in 2018, when I rode in support of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. Since then, my own medical journey has kept me from taking part.

I came frighteningly close to cancer myself, but through early intervention and extraordinary medical care, I was fortunate enough to avoid it. Along the way I survived major surgery, a heart attack, a pacemaker and a double bypass.

Today, I’m healthy enough to ride again.

Having faced the possibility of cancer as an adult, I know something of the fear that word can bring. But I can only imagine what it must be like when the patient is a child — and what it must do to the parents and families whose whole world is suddenly turned upside down.

I also look at my own eight grandchildren, all healthy and thriving, and realize just how fortunate our family has been.

During the darkest part of my own medical journey, I heard a voice say: “I’m not finished with you yet.”

I have never forgotten those words. I took them seriously. I’ve been given some extra miles, and I intend to use a few of them for something worthwhile.

This October, I’ll be riding and raising funds for the Children’s Medical Research Institute to support research into childhood cancer.

I would really appreciate your help. If you can donate, wonderful. If you can share my fundraising page, that helps too.

Kids should be out riding bikes, kicking footballs, climbing trees and driving their parents crazy — not fighting cancer.

I’m lucky enough to be riding again. This October, I’m riding for the kids who can’t.

Thank you for supporting this cause.