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Cancer-free Tour de Rock fan anticipates team’s arrival in Nanaimo

10-year-old Chloe Brown is a former junior rider with the Cops for Cancer fundraising tour
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Nanaimo’s Chloe Brown, 10, is anticipating the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock’s arrival in Nanaimo this weekend, Sept. 25-26. (Photo submitted/File photo)

Chloe Brown of Nanaimo has have been cancer-free for almost five years, but she and her family will always be grateful for the support from Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock riders.

In 2017, when she was just six years old, Chloe, now 10, was diagnosed with a form of kidney cancer.

“That was in the spring,” said Cora Brown, Chloe’s mother. “In the fall of 2017 – she was still undergoing treatment – we were introduced to Tour de Rock.”

Chloe became a Tour de Rock junior rider in 2018. Children who have been impacted by childhood cancer become honourary Tour de Rock team each year. Junior riders may be cancer patients undergoing treatment or in remission or siblings of pediatric cancer patients and serve as inspiration for Tour de Rock team members. The children sometimes share their personal experiences with their battles against cancer and about their experiences with the Canadian Cancer Society and its support programs, such as Camp Goodtimes, a summer camp in Maple Ridge for children with cancer and their families.

“The first time Chloe was really, really involved was 2018,” Cora said. “It was the first time she did all the events. We did lots of fundraisers with the team and then she and her brother actually went to Camp Goodtimes in the summer of 2018 and summer of 2019.”

Chloe and her family continue to turn out to support events that raise money to battle childhood cancer through research and support programs funded by the Canadian Cancer Society.

“We’re fully still involved anytime [the team] come to town,” Cora said.

Sunday, Sept. 26, Tour de Rock team members will honour Chloe with a visit to her home on Holland Road.

“They’re a super supportive team. We’ve remained close and in contact with the team,” Cora said. “It means a lot. Sending our kids to that camp was amazing. The kids still talk about it.”

Pre-COVID, Chloe used to travel with the team when it came to Nanaimo, lending her support at school donation presentation events and other stops on the team’s schedule.

“It means a lot just to build awareness around it,” Cora said. “It’s an unfortunate and horrible thing to go through, but building awareness that we do need fundraising done and research and funding to help find a cure [is important].”

2021 will be the fourth year the team is riding in Chloe’s honour.

“It’s important to give back and let these kids have a joyful time at camp, but more importantly, they’re raising money … for looking into childhood cancer,” Cora said. “It’s devastating and I’ve seen the devastating outcomes. We were fortunate that Chloe beat and is still beating it, but I’ve seen outcomes that weren’t that good and it’s awful. I can’t imagine.”

The Tour de Rock will arrive in Nanaimo on Saturday, Sept. 25, and depart on Sunday, Sept. 26. For more information, visit http://www.tourderock.ca.

READ ALSO: Nanaimo family fighting cancer raises $12K for B.C. Children’s Hospital



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Chris Bush

About the Author: Chris Bush

As a photographer/reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 1998.
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