Kingston to host 15th annual Ride for Dad in support of Prostate Cancer Fight Foundation

The 15th annual Kingston-Quinte TELUS Ride for Dad fundraiser will be held in Kingston on Saturday, May 25. Organized by the Prostate Cancer Fight Foundation’s (PCFF), the 200km parade route will take upwards of 700 motorcycle riders-for-a-cause on a scenic countryside route starting on Princess Street.

The PCFF has contributed more that 33 million dollars towards fighting prostate cancer. The Kingston-Quinte chapter was established in 2004 and has raised nearly $1,450,000 in donations, with more than $700,000 benefiting the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation’s (UHKF) research partners.

“This is local research which often attracts the funding of others,” said Dr. David Berman, Director of the Queen’s Cancer Research Institute. “It is excellent that it starts local.”

Dr. Katrina Gee, and co-investigator Dr. Andrew Craig—Associate Professors, Queen’s University School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences—will receive a $20,000 grant to further their research into novel therapies for prostate cancer at this year’s cheque presentation.

“From the riders on the road to the researchers in the lab, the fight is on!” said Dr. Gee. Her research will investigate the therapeutic potential of a specific killer-protein, interleukin-27 (IL-27), and how it contributes to the death of prostate cancer cells.

Dr. Gee said the goal was “to find ways to make cancer cells more visible to our immune cells.”

According to TELUS Ride for Dad Kingston-Quinte Chapter chair Brian Sutton, “With early detection, prostate cancer has a very high cure rate. All of the people in this ride want to raise money for research and awareness so that more men can be there for their families and friends for years to come.”