Help Sindy raise money

Hi, 

I'm Sindy Hooper, I live in Kanata and I’m a mom, wife, avid triathlete and runner. 

I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on Jan 2, 2013. With an average survival of only 6 months and a 5 year survival rate of 10%, pancreatic cancer is a really bad illness to get. I have no family history of cancer and none of the risk factors for pancreatic cancer. At 10 years I’m miraculously still alive, living life to the fullest, loving life in a way I never dreamed possible and wanting to give back.

When I was diagnosed with PC in 2013 I was extremely fortunate to be a candidate for Whipple surgery. The 10 hour surgery removed my gallbladder, bile duct and parts of my pancreas, stomach and small intestine. This was followed by 18 rounds of in hospital IV chemotherapy (Gemcitabine) and 28 days of radiation 

Thankful to have received this life saving care from The Ottawa Hospital I began living life to the fullest, 6 months at a time between CT scans, determined to give back and raise awareness of pancreatic cancer. 

I completed the 2013 Ironman Canada in the midst of my chemo treatments. This raised a lot media attention, $50,000 for cancer research and started me on my journey to raise money for The Ottawa Hospital.

In the last 10 years I’ve led 8 running teams at Ottawa Race Weekend. Our team name is "MEMC Crew” (make every moment count). Our goals are to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer, inspire hope for those newly diagnosed, raise money for pancreatic cancer research at The Ottawa Hospital ($274,000 to date), and encourage everyone to get active + live life to the fullest! 

Although the fear of my cancer returning had never left, with CT scans every 6 months since 2013, we were all still in shock when in August 2021 a cancer tumour was detected on my left lung. I had surgery to remove it and we learned it was a metastasis from the pancreatic cancer. In December we added on 3 rounds of chemotherapy to take our best shot at eradicating all cancer that may still be present.  

I enjoyed another 8 months of active, healthy living .... loving life with my family and dear friends. Unfortunately, in September 2022 we received the devastating news that I have three more pancreatic cancer metastases; on my left lung, T5 vertebra and one of my ribs. This time there is no surgery or potentially curative treatment. I entered stage IV terminal pancreatic cancer with realistically only one year to live. More if I’m fortunate, less if unlucky. We are all trying to absorb the shock of this news, that we’ve feared receiving for the last 10 years. I started palliative chemotherapy right away and will continue for as long as we can stop the tumours from growing and/or for as long as I can tolerate the chemo. 

I’m more determined than ever to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. Pancreatic cancer has the 3^rd highest number of cancer deaths each year in Canada, yet it remains severely underfunded. Perhaps this is because pancreatic cancer patients don’t live long enough to advocate for the disease. There is no early detection method and there is no effective treatment. The 5 year survival rate of 10% is the lowest by far of all major cancers; lung cancer is 22%, colorectal 67%, breast 89%, prostate 91%. 

I truly do live each day with gratitude and do my best to make every moment count. What helps keep me going is the tremendous amount of love and support I've received over the last 10 years from my family, friends and community. Being a cancer survivor has taught me that this fight is not only about me .... it's about giving back. I’ve been very public about what I’ve been going through, trying to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer, hope for other survivors, and encouraging everyone to make every moment count. Also very important to me is raising money for cancer research ...... being part of a movement that will ultimately help find a cure or (at the very least) effective treatments for those of us with pancreatic cancer. 

I am asking for your help to take a moment and give from your heart to help find better treatments for pancreatic cancer (which would also extend to other cancers), to give people hope of surviving this devastating cancer. Every dollar that you give ensures that researchers at The Ottawa Hospital can continue working to improve outcomes for cancer patients like myself. 

If you'd like to join our team or donate, please find the links below (just off to the right). If you would like to contact me, please email sindyhoop@gmail.com

From the bottom of my heart ….. thank you. 

Make every moment count!

Sindy