A two-day music festival and beach volleyball tournament are happening on the weekend in downtown North Bay in support of a 31-year-old local paramedic battling stage 4 colon cancer.
Jordan Gardiner and his German shepherd Hope, who he got two months after his diagnosis, during a chemo treatment. (Supplied)(Jordan Gardiner and his dog Hope during a chemo treatment)
The disease is one of the most five common cancers in Canada that typically affects seniors, with an average age of 69 at diagnosis, Stats Canada said in 2018.
However, after being diagnosed at 28 years old, Jordan Gardiner wants to warn they are never too young to be diagnosed with this type of cancer and it is starting to affect younger and younger people.
Initially, Gardiner was given six months to a year to live, but three years later, he is on palliative chemotherapy, his wife Paige Shemilt told CTV News in a phone interview Thursday.
About two months ago, Gardiner was thinking of how he could create awareness about the disease among people his age and how he could do more to give back to the community when the idea for Jordan's Bash for Hope fundraiser was born.
Shemilt said the idea has taken off and they now have 20 volleyball teams competing and 20 local bands – including Canadian country rock star and North Bay local Cory Marks -- donating their time to play at the event Sept. 9 and 10.
Festivities get underway Friday at 6 p.m. and all ages are welcome.
Two stages will be set up, one on Main Street – which will be blocked off for the event -- in front of Lou Dawgs and one inside the restaurant.
A block over, teams of four will play on the sanded volleyball courts on Oak Street, beside the museum and bus terminal, where there are bleachers for spectators.
Gardiner played varsity volleyball and in provincial beach tournaments.
The initial goal was to raise $10,000 through the event with money going to Colorectal Cancer Canada.
Gardiner is the head organizer and advocate for the organization's 'Never Too Young Program.'
"My goal is to encourage others fighting to, above all else, never lose hope. And I want to share the message that colorectal cancer can affect anyone. Early screening for colorectal cancer and making choices to decrease risk is so important," he said in a news release.
On Sept. 9, the musical performance will run 6-11 p.m. and the volleyball games 6-8 p.m.
The games get underway Sept. 10 at 8 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m., while the music plays from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. with Cory Marks performing at 9 p.m.
Jordan Gardiner is not giving up hope as he and his wife, Paige, catch some volleyball action at a tournament in his honour. (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)(Gardiner is not giving up hope as he and his wife, Paige, catch some volleyball action at the tournament in his honour.)
Gardiner and Shemilt were high school sweethearts and have been together for 13 years.
Shemilt said her husband had been checked at the hospital in June 2019 and was diagnosed two months later with stage 4 cancer, five days before their wedding.
Jordan Gardiner, his wife Paige Shemilt, and their German shepherd Hope. (Supplied)(Gardiner, his wife Paige Shemilt and their German shepherd, which they got two months after Jordan's diagnosis)
She said it is important to advocate for your own health and keep an eye out when things don't feel or seem right with your health, even if it seems really small.
"Ask for that test, whether it be a colonoscopy or CAT scan," Shemilt said.
"We didn't push for it because we trusted the doctors.
Gardiner is hoping Jordan's Bash for Hope will become an annual thing.
Post a Comment