Caledon woman employs spirit of the Roughriders in cancer battle

Written By SCOTT TAYLOR

Possessing a fierce spirit and a bright outlook, a Caledon woman diagnosed last year with breast cancer is going to walk around Toronto to help others and herself.

Barbara Karasiuk, 72, was diagnosed in August 2017. Asked what the first reaction to hearing such news is, she replied, “Fear. That's the first thing that goes through your mind because when you're first diagnosed you don't know what stage it is or anything, and with my family history I knew it wasn't good. Mine was Stage 1, thank God they caught it early.

Karasiuk had the odds stacked against her from the beginning. The relentless cancer gene BRCA2 runs in her family on her father's side. Cousins, aunts, a sister and her son have all been diagnosed with cancer.

“It's on my dad's side, the cancer gene, we know that,” she said. “But my son at least didn't have the BRCA2 gene, so thank God for that. It's the BRCA2 gene that's the real killer. Unfortunately, I do have it and my sister has it. The BRCA2 gene seems to affect the women more, obviously.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, people who have inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 tend to develop breast and ovarian cancers at younger ages than people who do not have these mutations. A harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation can be inherited from a person's mother or father.

“Not everyone has been tested, but I did also have one cousin and two aunts, so there you go. It's all on my father's side and it's been passed down, but we're all hoping we can fight this thing,” Karasiuk said. “After I was diagnosed, I went back (home) to Saskatchewan to visit everybody and I always go to my favourite store there, which is the Saskatchewan Roughriders store and I walked in and they had these beautiful pink hats that had just come out for breast cancer. I said, ‘you know what, I have to have one of those hats.' So I bought one for myself.”

When she returned, she started to think of what she could do “because I needed a goal to get myself through the next few months. I knew it was going to be difficult with chemo, radiation, you name it, and I happened upon the Rexall OneWalk to Conquer Cancer and I thought what better way of doing something for other people going through this, plus it was going to help me, so I formed a team and the team was called the Roughriders.”

Now with at least six walks under her belt, Karasiuk recalls the first one like it was yesterday, even though heavy doses of chemotherapy and radiation have decreased her memory and concentration, at least for now.

“The first walk I ever did was when my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. That was when they just came out with the 60-km breast cancer walk. It was two days and we did 30 km one day and 30 km the next. We camped out in those blue tents at Downsview Airport. Overall, I've done six (walks) for sure and it might have been as many as eight.”

Karasiuk has gone as far as contacting the actual Saskatchewan Roughriders football team to tell them about she and her team are commemorating them.

“They know who we are and they know what we're doing,” she said. “They've seen our shirts and our hats.”

While there hasn't been an official offer to recognize the “Caledon Roughriders” at a game, that's something that still could happen, perhaps with some gentle nudging from the good people at Rexall.

Meanwhile, she and her team are ready, willing, and — happily — able to put on their shoes to go for a walk around the city of Toronto to benefit the Princess Margaret Foundation this weekend.

For the last 15 years, the OneWalk has raised over $168 million for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and is The Princess Margaret's next generation fundraiser.

“Princess Margaret Cancer Centre is one of the top five cancer research centres in the world, leading the way in Personalized Cancer Medicine and the funds raised through the Rexall OneWalk to Conquer Cancer are vital to continue to support breakthrough research, world leading clinical enhancements and supportive care programs for patients throughout their cancer journey,” said Karen Adams, associate vice-president of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. “In its 16th year, funds raised through the Walk have been transformational for our research engine but we need the community to continue to walk and raise crucial dollars, to support our mission of conquering cancer in our lifetime.”

Following the Walk, and in true Karasiuk fashion, she plans to start riding the trails of Caledon on her bike. Once she has a new “plush” seat installed on it, that is.