Cancer is stupid, friendship is not

Members of the Cancer is Stupid walk team hit the road last month.

courtesy Jill Thomas

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Real friendship was demonstrated last month by a group of Cowichan women.

On July 21, a team of 12 women walked a whopping 36 kilometres from Saywell Park in Lake Cowichan to the Duncan Fire Hall, all in the name of their friend, Cindy Kruk.

The women walked to raise money for Kruk as she battles ovarian cancer. The event raised $8,000 and support keeps rolling in to help Kruk and her family through this difficult time.

“She can’t work anymore because she has to have chemo and she’s got another few months to go. We are not sure when she can work again,” said Jill Thomas, one of the walkers and key organizers.

“For me, I want her family to have some money to do something that they wouldn’t normally do. Her husband is now the sole supporter and she is about to become a grandma, I want them to take a holiday and I don’t want them to have to worry.”

Since Kruk is an avid walker herself, the group thought a walk would be great way to show support.

“Cindy lives in Lake Cowichan. The Duncan fire department offered their fire hall to have a fundraiser, so we thought, ‘Why not start at Lake Cowichan and walk to the fire hall,”’ said Thomas. “Cindy walked the last half a mile with us.”

The walk culminated in the “Cindy Rellas Royal Ball” at the fire hall. A pair of pilot trucks supplied by SureSpan Structure accompanied the walkers, keeping them fed with groceries donated by Country Grocer.

Thomas says Kruk’s strength inspired the team to keep walking and remain motivated.

“We thought about Cindy the whole way, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” she said. “We thought if Cindy has cancer, we could walk 36 kilometres.”

Thomas said she is amazed by Kruk’s ability to remain positive and this experience has shown her how important it is to live in the moment.

“She’s fabulous, she’s amazing and she is the most positive person and she remains positive. She just says ‘Let’s do it and get it over with’ and that’s all you can do,” Thomas said.

“We have all learned that life is very short and we should live in the moment. There’s no past, no future, there’s just today and every day is a gift right now.”