To print out a donation form, click here

Support the Ride to Conquer Cancer

At nineteen years old, during the post-war turmoil in England, Eileen married a GI and began a new life in America. What kind of person was she? Two marriages later as a single mom with four children she trained as a meat cutter because that was “the best paying work in the store”. The local meat cutters union told her that they did not accept women members and that would not be changing any time in the foreseeable future! Soon after that meeting Eileen became the first woman member of the local meat cutters union.
My then girlfriend, now partner, Lorraine took me to meet her aunt Eileen in California when I was a twenty something, shy, damp civil engineer from Manchester. Eileen physically and emotionally embraced me like a prodigal son. A few days later I was riding across the Arizona desert to her trailer at the river, sharing the open bed of her pickup truck with Keith and Rocky (her son and her pet raccoon respectively). Safe to say that for me there was no going back…
Eileen was a hard living, straight talking, compassionate person who showed me by example that life is much larger than I had previously dared to imagine. Soon after arriving back from vacation Lorraine and I began making plans to immigrate to North America.
It seemed nothing could stand in her way. Until at (for her) the young age of sixty the doctors found a tumour in her chest. Two years and three rounds of treatment later we lost her. That was fifteen years ago. I still miss her.
Today because of massive advances in the diagnosis and treatment of all forms of cancer Eileen may well have survived. Since I began this fund raiser several people have shared their stories with me, you probably have one of your own. Cancer death rates are falling every year due to research and treatment development.
Please consider making a contribution.
Thank You

If you think this page contains objectionable content, please inform the system administrator.