7 days to raise awareness about Pancreatic Cancer

Jeff Green | May 25, 2022

Mia Craig and her family made the decision to become permanent lakefront residents on Sharbot Lake near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They bought their property on Sharbot Lake in 2019, planning to rent it out some of the time and use it for weekends and vacations, with the idea of leaving Toronto to live in the country some time in the future.

That all changed when COVID hit in March of 2020. Suddenly, the cottage and all of the opportunities to ski and snowshoe in the winter, bike and swim in the summer, seemed a lot more appealing than their house at Dufferin and Bloor in Toronto. Mia was already doing her human resources work for Rogers virtually because of the pandemic and her husband is self employed, so nothing was stopping them. With their two children, Xavier and Sloan, in primary school, they decided to make the move pretty quickly so the kids would be ready to attend Granite Ridge in the fall of 2020.

They haven't looked back.

“Rudy and Joan Hollywood are our neighbours, so even though we did not really know anyone when we moved, they brought us in to their swimming and biking groups in the summer, and snow-shoeing in the winter, so a lot of our friends are older than us, but just as active,” said Mia, taking a break from her 9-5 virtual work day, late last week. “And now we have met friends through the school. We are really looking forward to getting to know the community better, as the pandemic lifts and people are able to gather.”

While the move to the country has been a joyous one, other issues have clouded Mia's life in recent years.

Mia's mother, Marina Mauri-Morsani, had been dealing with pancreatic cancer over the last three years.

She died in April of 2021.

Mia, who had thyroid cancer herself when she was in her 20's, knew little about pancreatic cancer before her mother's diagnosis in 2018.

What she has learned is not comforting. Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest of all cancers, with a 93% mortality rate, and 75% of those who are diagnosed die within one year of the diagnosis.

“We were lucky to have my mother with us for three years after her diagnosis,” said Mia, “She was super fit and maybe that helped her live that long. Once she was diagnosed, I read as much as I could about pancreatic cancer, and the research that is going on to combat it. That's where I found out about 7 days in May.”

7 days in May is a long-distance cycle that was started by cyclist Gord Townley and his wife Jan, in 2012, to raise funds and awareness about pancreatic cancer after they lost a family member. It was originally a 7 day ride around Lake Ontario through Canada and New York State. In 2020 it was postponed, due to COVID, until September, and in 2021 it was cancelled, and done as a virtual event. This year, a group of riders will ride the distance together, but instead of going around Lake Ontario, a new Ontario route will be used. Some people ride for one or two days, others ride virtually where they live, and a hardy group of more extreme cyclists will do the seven day 1000km + ride.

Mia Craig got involved with the ride in 2020.

“I did two days with them that year. It was cancelled in 2021, so last year I rode virtually.”

This year she is joining the full ride. The distance varies each day, but averages out to over 150 kilometres a day, over pretty hilly terrain, about an 8 hour ride each day for Mia.

“It is going to be tough, even for an avid cyclist like me. I have prepared as much as I can, but the effort involved is similar to running a marathon, and then you do it again for 6 more days. I am passionate about the cause, and the amount of pain I will endure is nothing compared to the pain that cancer patients, like my mom, have gone through. When it comes down to it, I hope that I will be able to keep focusing on why I am out there doing this, in order to fight through the most difficult moments.”

The training itself has been intense, as Mia is a full time working mom. She has been training most evenings, on her indoor trainer, starting at 8:30pm.

“My mother really encouraged me to do this ride. She said “I know you can do it, just be careful.” So I am riding for her this year.”

It will be an emotional as well as a physical challenge, and last week she was counting the days before the ride starts this weekend. It runs from May 28 to June 3rd.

7 days in May has twin goals, raising awareness about pancreatic cancer, and raising money.

Riders raised funds through sponsorship and Mia had already raised $5,000 last week, well on her way to the $7,000 target. The riders cover all of their own costs, out of pocket, and the ride covers all of its own costs, so 100% of the funds that are raised go to research.

The pancreatic cancer website describes the research effort in the following way:

“While raising awareness is important, beating pancreatic cancer requires greater focus on understanding the disease. The key to better diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately a cure, is research. So, that’s where we channel our precious funds.

Until now this effort has been largely self-directed, and we have enjoyed a long and successful partnership with the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) team at Queens University, Kingston. Recognising however, that the research community itself has become better organised in Canada under the PancOne™ initiative, we are now happy to effectively ‘outsource’ decision making to them as experts, confident in the knowledge that they are best positioned to know where to direct our funds for greatest impact.

To sponsor Mia's ride, click here

Click here for further information about pancreatic cancer