Inspiring Stories of Typical Canadians

Read the stories of Typically Canadian Heroes. They are heroes because no matter if they won, or sadly lost their battle, they fought and they inspired. They fought and inspired with the courage and passion that is unmatched. They fought and inspired with the determination, willpower and compassion that is only displayed in a unique, exquisite individual.

We can inspire a nation and fight the battle against cancer with the stories of these heroes' lives.

Read Inspiring Stories

	Frank Moores As told by TC Rider Kyle Braatz The Typically Canadian cause was inspired by the life and death of a truly extraordinary figure in my life. My Granddad, the Honourable Frank Duff Moores, a former MP, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, successful business man, but most of all, my best friend and a Typical Canadian who was diagnosed with liver cancer 18 months before he died in July 2005. Full Story »
	Robert Walsh As told by Austin Walsh My poppy died of lung cancer on March 4/2008 in St. John’s, NL only 16 months after being diagnosed. Full Story »
	Michael Swetnam The Moncton Fire Department (MFD) regrettably announces the passing of Fire Prevention Officer Michael (Mike) Swetnam, Sunday, January 13, 2008, at the Moncton Hospital. He had only just recently received the diagnosis of cancer. Full Story »
	Gary Harris Captain Garry Harris, Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Service was diagnosed with leukemia in September 1997 at the age of 43. One primary cause for this type of cancer is exposure to Benzene-a toxin known to be given off by diesel exhaust and also found in many fire situations. Full Story »
	Max Keeping Max Keeping was diagnosed with prostrate cancer on May 30th, 2003 , the same weekend he hosted the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Telethon. Full Story »
	Chuck Conley When cancer hits close to home, the financial extremes to which people must go can be drastic. Chuck and Mene Conley of Happy Valley-Goose Bay decided that, after their fifth of 16 trips to St. John's for Chuck's surgery, treatment and check-ups, it was like they were living a second life there. Full Story »
	Brenda Kurtz Brenda is a 13 & 1/2 year breast cancer Survivor and has been a dedicated Canadian Cancer Society Volunteer for the last 10 years. Full Story »
	Deanne Firmage Deanne was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer that starts in the lymphatic tissue, in June 2003. She was 26 years old. Full Story »
	Jim Quarles Jim Quarles died January 25th of Recurring Malignant Melanoma. He was 74 yrs old and was cycling 50/100 km in a day without too much trouble. Full Story »
	Sylvia Reizes Sylvia was my closest friend. She died of metastasized colon cancer on Aril 25 in Victoria BC, almost 10 years after the death of her husband Rick, caused by an aggressive cancer to the prostate. Full Story »
	Irwin Barker - Honourary Tribute Tour Rider Irwin Barker…Husband, Father, Son, Extremely talented stand up comedian, writer for the Rick Mercer Report and a wonderful human being who is currently fighting cancer. Full Story »
	My Mom - Kathy Jane McIntosh I will never forget the feeling I felt when my dad called my two sisters and I down to our family room in October 1996. My family never had meetings so I knew that what was about to be told to us was serious. I remember a big long speech that ended in silence when my mother stated that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Full Story »
	Jay - A Living Miracle On April 26,2006 life changed in a split second. Our son Jay was diagnosed with liver cancer which had spred to his lungs. this is typical of this type of cancer. Jay was a stage four, however there was a twist. Full Story »
	Firefighter Bob's Story In Thanksgiving of 2006 our world was turned upside down when Bob, 28 years old, was diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous brain tumour and given only one year to live. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he had just, only four weeks earlier, been awarded his dream job of becoming a firefighter after years of pursuit. Full Story »
	Jason Anderson - Yellow Jersey Honouree There are people you meet throughout your life that instantly become your best friend and over time become like a brother to you. That is how you can describe the relationship I have with my best friend, a brother, Jason Anderson. Full Story »
	John Wagontall - Yellow Jersey Honouree Written by Rene May, a brother. My friend John Wagontall was a Fire Fighter in excellent physical condition when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the early age of 46. He learned he had cancer on December 13, 2004. The news to him and his family was devastating. Full Story »
	Bernie - My Best Friend Story told by son Mark Peters I would first like to say that my father, Bernie was my best friend. He was 57 years old. He worked 30+ years at the Irving Paper mill in Saint John, NB, where he retired in Sept/05. He was diagnosed with throat cancer shortly after his retirement in which he battled for approx. 2 years and lost the fight this past July 23/07. Full Story »
	Not Once But Twice In April 2000 our Mother received news that she was living with breast cancer. At the time we were teenagers and did not quite grasp what this really meant. It seemed like it had to be something minor which was going to pass quickly, because up until this point, the idea of her being weakened by something didn’t seem possible to us. Full Story »
	Bao Ninh Banh This is a tribute to my grandfather, Mr. Bao Ninh Banh. He was a loving husband, a father of five daughters, grandfather of five granddaughters, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer patient. As the first member in our family to be diagnosed and pass away from cancer, the shock of this disease devastated our family and friends. Full Story »
	Chris Gist Chris was diagnosed at age 15 with T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. That much is true, however cancer did not define who Chris was and always will be to those that love him. Full Story »
	John Coleman Growing up in the 50's I never told my dad I loved him. All through school and into the working world we never said "I love you". Then Cancer struck. Full Story »
	Olivia Olivia was 16 months old when we were told that she had a brain tumour. The array of emotions you experience when told such a thing is so vast. Full Story »
	Julie Hi, I'm the mother of Julie, a 14 year old cancer survivor. Julie was ill for several months in 2004 and 2005 with uncontrollable itching, a constant dry cough around the clock, pallor, weight loss and severe fatigue. She was finally diagnosed with Stage 3B Hodgkin's lymphoma in April of 2005. Full Story »
	Lindsey's Grandma I will never forget the day when my Grandma called and told my family she had cancer. She said, "well today is my grieving day and tomorrow I start to fight this disease" and fighting is what she did. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on May 7, 2003 which eventually spread. Full Story »
	Aldo Dominguez To everyone that knew Aldo, he was special. With his ready smile, strong handshake, and effervescent personality, his passion for life constantly shone through. Aldo's terminal battle with Lymphoma may have ended January 12, 2004, but his dedication to health will now continue to help Canadians in their own struggle against cancer. Full Story »
	Michel Lalonde The most amazing and revealing sentiment about being survivor of two very distinct cancer episodes is the capacity as human to adapt to the worst possible life threatening situations. Full Story »
	Lisa Swallow "Thank you Terry Fox" My name is Lisa Swallow, I'm 39 and I beat cancer twice. I was just 3 years old the first time I had it. It was a Whilm's tumor in my right kidney, so they removed the kidney. It was a long, hard battle but I pulled through. Full Story »
	Denise St-Laurent Denise had a great life, two beautiful boys and a loving husband. Unfortunately, Denise was diagnosed with stage 3a large cell lung cancer in July 2001. She was 40 years old and was she ever scared. But Denise was a fighter and she had the support system she needed from her caring husband, family and friends. Full Story »
	Cathy Kosior When I was diagnosed in May, 2003 with breast cancer at age 48, I had already stopped working because of an unmanageable level of fatigue. In a way, it was a relief to find out why I hadn't been able to regain sufficient strength to work despite taking time off. Surgery to remove the tumor confirmed that the cancer had also spread to the lymph nodes and was described as being at a stage 2. Full Story »
	Mary Vander Zalm and Family As told by TCG rider Steve Coleman After discussing the idea of Typically Canadian, two very special individuals immediately came to mind. The first being the strongest woman I have ever met, who experienced WWII and raised eight children through some very difficult times. Full Story »