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Red Deer Ride for Dad raises money for prostate cancer research

Dozens of motorcycle riders hit the road in central Alberta to raise money for prostate cancer research.
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The second annual Red Deer Ride for Dad supports prostate cancer research and raises public awareness of the disease. Photo by SEAN MCINTOSH/Advocate staff

Dozens of motorcycle riders hit the road in central Alberta to raise money for prostate cancer research.

“The money that we raise, 90 per cent of it stays here in Alberta,” said Al Nicks, co-chair of the Red Deer Ride for Dad chapter, on Saturday.

While this is just the second year the event has been in Red Deer, Ride for Dad is a 20-year-old non-profit organization with more than 30 groups across the country.

The national organization’s mission is to “raise funds and save men’s lives by supporting prostate cancer research and raising public awareness of the disease,” according to the group’s Facebook page.

It has raised more than $35 million for prostate cancer research.

John Kammerer, chairman of Red Deer Ride for Dad, said raising awareness is just as important as raising money.

“If (prostate cancer) is detected early enough, there is a 98 per cent success rate,” he said.

“The treatments can be anything from having injections to the more severe ones, which would be operations and radiation.

“What we’re pushing is for people to go into their doctor and have a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test. It’s just like going into the doctor’s office and doing a blood test – that’s all it is.”

Nicks said the group is still finding its footing in central Alberta.

“We’re in the development stage here in terms of getting into the survivor group and stuff like that,” he said.

“As we grow here as a chapter in Red Deer, we will be focusing on those things.”

There was no fundraising goal for Saturday’s ride, said Nicks.

“This year has been challenging, with the COVID situation. Our big goal today was to have as many people come out as we could,” he said.

“But going forward into next year, we will have a list of goals, we will have more of an agenda. This year, we just wanted to focus on having a good ride and representing our sponsors and donors the best we can.

“Red Deer and the surrounding community have stepped up to the plate. It’s just unbelievable what they’ve done for us.”



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

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The second annual Red Deer Ride for Dad supports prostate cancer research and raises public awareness of the disease. Photo by SEAN MCINTOSH/Advocate staff


Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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