Cape Town - Approximately 30 cyclists, most of whom know what it’s like to lose someone to cancer or multiple sclerosis, will cycle from Mossel Bay to Cape Town to raise funds for the treatment and care of these illnesses.
Rylands resident and dental surgeon Dr Elias Parker said Wheel to Heal was launched to raise funds for charities and had set a target of R2 million.
Parker lost his wife, Mariam, to cancer five years ago.
Parker said it was “an unbelievably painful” experience. Those who had lost someone in this way “know the sense of detachment, it simply makes you grapple with it for not days or months, but for years”, he said.
At the age of 63, Parker got on to a bike for the first time.
The group will leave Cape Town for Mossel Bay on December 3 and will cycle from Mossel Bay on December 4, through Calitzdorp, Ladismith, Barrydale, Montague, Worcester, Wellington and then back to Cape Town, a nine-day journey.
“In addition to raising the money, we also want to increase awareness. In the rural areas, a lot of people, quite a large percentage of them, die because of very late detection or no detection for that matter.
“So increasing the awareness and the significance of early detection is as important as providing funds for the treatment of cancer.”
The group received sponsorship of 400 food hampers to distribute.
Parker called for the public to sponsor a cyclist per kilometre or donate to the fund. All proceeds will go to Pink Drive and Multiple Sclerosis South Africa.
Wheel to Heal secretary Anil Lalla lost his wife to cancer seven years ago.
The Penlyn Estate resident and pharmacist said there was almost no one in the group that had not been affected directly or indirectly by cancer.
“A lot of cancer goes undetected. By the time it is actually seen at hospital level, patients are already at stage four of whatever cancer they have and are told ‘you have three months to live’, or six months.
“Our focus is on early detection of cancer. And if we can detect cancer at stage 1 or even precancerous stages, then we can intervene and we can do something about it.”