Waterloo, Ont. man diagnosed with rare form of cancer gearing up for Ride to Conquer Cancer

A Waterloo, Ont. man is set to be one of the thousands of participants at this weekend’s Ride to Conquer Cancer in Toronto, despite recently undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer.

Dana Fox is currently buckling up for the last few days of his training but the starting line seemed out of reach just a few months ago.

He used to be able to run long distances with ease, so when something felt off last summer it raised some red flags for the 66-year-old.

“My fingers started to tingle on the very ends,” Fox explained.

He quickly went in to see his doctor and in no time, there was a diagnosis.

“They said ‘yeah, you’ve got cholangiocarcinoma,” recalled Fox.

It’s an aggressive cancer that forms in the body’s slender tubes, which carries digestive fluid bile.

It took its toll too. Fox began to lose weight rapidly and doctors were worried.

“If I look at the last 20 years of data, I’m probably going to be dead by the time I hit October or November of this year,” he told CTV News.

But then his training habits and strong mindset from running so many marathons kicked in.

“I listened to about three minutes of that and said ‘well, that’s for normal people and I’m not normal.’”

Fox began chemotherapy and started to look at every treatment like a track meet – one with many hurdles.

The one thing, however, that helped him power through those low moments was a special pair of red Adidas running shoes.

Dana Fox preparing for the Ride to Conquer Cancer on June 8 and 9. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV News)

“My dad bought these for me in 1971,” said Fox, holding up the shoes. “I got these spikes and I said ‘I’m going to a track workout and I need to bring some people with me so I brought my dad with me to track workout on Fridays.”

In an interview with CTV News, Fox teared up as he remembered his chemo treatments.

“You’re going to feel trashed on Saturday, but Sunday you’re going to come back and on Monday you’re going to be stronger and better,” he said, flexing his muscles. “And I said ‘OK, that’s my ticket out.’”

The shoes were extra encouragement and Fox’s hope grew as he began running again.

One day, a close friend suggested a new challenge – the Ride to Conquer Cancer for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. Even for Fox, that seemed like a big hill to climb so he was hesitant at first.

“I tried riding downstairs on the trainer and I could only last five minutes. I had a winter coat on. A toque. My mitts. I was freezing cold,” he said.

But he kept pedalling and building his strength back as he turned his focus to the big ride.

With help from a team made up of family and friends who will be riding with him, they’ve raised $30,000 and counting.

And just in time for the 200 km ride, Fox shared some encouraging news.

“I just finished my last chemo treatment last Friday,” he said.

While he’s not in the clear yet, and immunotherapy still ongoing, this tough journey is finally coming into view.

With a lifetime of experience crossing that finish line, Fox has no plans of stopping now.