Chilliwack doctor cycling 200km for cancer research fundraiser in Toronto

CHILLIWACK — A Chilliwack doctor is trading his scrubs for a helmet and some wheels next weekend.

As a community urologist, Dr. Kash Visram is no stranger to the effects of cancer on his work, which is why he’ll be flying to Toronto to cycle the 200km Princess Margaret Ride to Conquer Cancer on June 7 and 8.

“Cancer research makes a huge difference in terms of advancing our technology, our ability to diagnose cancer early, our ability to render patients cancer-free,” Dr. Visram told Fraser Valley Today.

Part of his work at Chilliwack General Hospital involves treating common cancers in the genital and urinary organs, like the prostate and bladder. When he’s not at work, treatments ranging from immunotherapy to surgical innovations are still top of mind for the 35-year-old surgeon.

“I’ve only been working independently for less than a year, but throughout my kind of five years of training and four years of medical school, there’s been substantial evolution in genitourinary cancer care,” said Dr. Visram. “It’s interesting that some of those things that started off as projects perhaps 10 years ago are now frontline options for patients everywhere, even in smaller communities like Chilliwack and other places.”

Along with his career as a physician, Dr. Visram also has a family history of breast-related cancers and a mother who works in palliative care– it’s all the fuel he needs to train for what can easily be a gruelling two-day trek.

Dr. Visram is now at $1,456.00 out of his $2,500 fundraising goal at the time of writing.

You can support him through his donation page, but he also encourages folks to help through community drives and fundraisers for their local hospital’s cancer care and research.

“I think all of it makes a big difference. Any effort is worthwhile,” he said.

“Everybody knows someone who’s had cancer or who will have cancer, and the more research we do and the more we try to figure out how to better treat it, how to better manage it, how to better diagnose it, the better our loved ones will be looked after now and in the future.”