Those who gathered in a residential neighbourhood in Kanata on a cold and windy Saturday morning couldn’t help but wonder if Sindy Hooper, a loving mother and friend, was smiling at them when the sun peaked through the clouds briefly.
Around 70 people gathered in front of her family’s house to take part in Sindy’s Run, a fundraiser to support pancreatic cancer research at The Ottawa Hospital. Everyone was in high spirits: There was a bake sale, and many people brought their children and pets to run or walk alongside them.
Hooper, an elite triathlete who radiated happiness and warmth, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer more than 12 years ago. She died in September 2024 with medical assistance at the age of 61.
This year her friends and family wanted to honour Hooper’s passion for raising awareness about the disease and legacy of raising funds for cancer research by continuing the event that raised around $30,000 last year.
“I’m super happy to be part of this and all the work that Sindy, Jon (Hooper’s husband) and the group have done to raise money,” said Janet McKeage, chair of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation and a long-time friend of Hooper’s.
“I miss Sindy’s laugh and smile. Even when she felt her worst, she always was positive and always believed in telling people to make the most of every day … She filled a room with hope and happiness and a lot of laughing.”
McKeage was positively surprised by the turnout this year, especially after a cold and rainy Halloween.
“Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, and, unlike others, survival rates haven’t gotten better to this point, because, sadly, people die very quickly,” she said.
“Sindy was a very special person who lived 12 years with it, and it was her mission to share about the disease and to raise money so that there was a focus on it … Research needs funding.”
Dr. John Bell, a senior scientist for cancer research at The Ottawa Hospital, told the crowd on Saturday that he was hopeful about new treatment methods for pancreatic cancer patients.
He said traditional methods like chemotherapy and radiation therapy weren’t working as well as scientists hoped because they often attacked healthy tissues as they got closer and closer to killing off cancer cells. Targeted therapy, which Bell is conducting research on, will kill off only cancer tissues by “revving up” a patient’s immune system so it can attack and kill off cancer cells on its own.
He also talked about developing a potential vaccine for pancreatic cancer patients, which has shown promising results, though its still in the early stages of research and development.
“The money that you’re raising, which goes to The Ottawa Hospital, goes towards those sorts of efforts to try to make new therapies for patients that can really change the outcomes for their lives,” Bell told run participants.
“This new concept of a cancer vaccine is really quite exciting, and people have been dreaming of it for years. It’s now starting to happen. So it’s really, in large part, thanks to people like you to continue to support cancer research around the world that makes this happen.”
