My name is Bianca Hayes. In 2018, cancer changed my life dramatically.

I lost my sister, Katrina, to stromal ovarian cancer on April 19, 2018. Since then, I have dedicated myself to fundraising to find a cure for this rapid and devastating cancer.

When someone you love is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it’s hard to hear the dismal survival rates and not think of the worst-case scenario. I focused on the positives: my sister was young (only 31 years old), healthy, and strong. And yet one year later, she was gone.

In February 2018, Katrina's doctors, gave her a terminal diagnosis. She was transferred into a palliative care ward, and held on for two more months. These were months she got to spend with friends, family, and her 2 year old son, Calvin. Calvin is going to grow up with only faint memories of his mom. He won’t get to meet her or be able to know the complete and loving person she was.

Ovarian cancer survival rates have not changed in 50 years. Hearing how little progress has been made on the disease that irreparably changed my family was like salt added to the wound.

50 years with no significant change in life expectancy No significant improvements in reliable screening
In BC, 250 of the 300 women diagnosed annually will die

Breast cancer and prostate cancer started with similar survival rates. Thankfully, massive awareness and fundraising campaigns have made huge impacts over the years, leading to improved treatments, life-saving screening tests, and declining mortality rates.

These campaigns have also been successful by having survivors speak about their experiences and sharing what funding means to them. Ovarian cancer does not have that survivorship, so this work lands on the shoulders of the loved ones left afterwards.

I do this work by getting on my bike to pedal long distances.

My fundraising journey started with the Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2018, only a few months after losing Katrina. I joined hundreds of other people to ride through BC and raise money for cancer. Seeing the support, the energy of the volunteers, and the amazing group of people dedicating their time to this event truly lit this fire within me.

The next year, I rode to San Francisco in 9 days, spreading my sister’s ashes along the coastline so she could visit the place she dreamed about during her final weeks: the beach, ocean waves, and feeling the sun on her face.

In 2020, the Trans-Canada Ride idea was born. I wanted to do something on a larger scale to bring serious, international attention to this disease. Despite becoming the fastest woman to bike across Canada that summer, unfortunately COVID hit and the world was distracted.

This year will be different. Supported by my community, the BC Cancer Foundation, and Ovarian Cancer Canada, on June 13th I will set out to cover 5,700 km from Vancouver to Halifax in 15 days, riding 20 hours and 400 km a day. My goal is to raise $1 million for ovarian cancer and to set the Guinness World Record for fastest trans-Canada ride.

I am riding so that the women who hear this story know the following: our pap tests do not test for ovarian cancer; we do not currently have a screening test; and that every woman with ovaries is at risk. I will stop at nothing to see this through.

I look to you for your financial support of this event.

Please donate as much as you can, so that we can fund critical research, to raise public awareness, and to create a better future together for the women and their loved ones devastated by ovarian cancer. For Katrina.