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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, October 29, 2015 | 14 Son thinks of his mom during Breast Cancer Awareness month by Bob Mitchell Special to the Beaver Royston Sequeira was devastated by the loss of his mother Miriam to cancer in August 2005. He knew he wanted to do something to honour her and thought participating in one of the many fundraising walks would be a great idea. But then he was hospitalized with a heart condition, which resulted in two operations, the first in 2006 and the second in 2011. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, Sequeira was finally able to fulfill his wish of honouring the memory of his mother's passing a decade ago by participating in the lifechanging OneWalk to Conquer Cancer. On Sept. 12, he, his aunt Mariette, and four other colleagues formed the Miriam-Julian Team, which raised $12,000 for the "OneWalk to Conquer Cancer" benefiting Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. It's been an emotional journey for the 34-year-old Oakville resident, who raised more than $2,000 of the total, including $1,000 from a friend's golf tournament. He experienced an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction after he and their team completed the walk, which started in the rain and ended Miriam Sequeira in sunshine. "We all crossed the finish line holding hands," said Sequeira, a program manager for Jamdeo, an Oakville company that develops software for smart televisions. "I was exhausted but at the same time I felt emotionally satisfied that I was finally able to honour my mother's passing." More than 4,500 people, including many survivors, raised more than $7.5 million on their 25-kilometre walk through the streets of Toronto -- a fitting tribute leading up to this month's Breast Cancer Awareness Month. "This disease impacts thousands. It's estimated As seen on 25,000 Canadian women and more than 200 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015," said Leviana Coccia, communication coordinator for the OneWalk event. Miriam was diagnosed with breast cancer three times before she lost her life. On the third time, it spread to her lungs and kidney. "An estimated two in five Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetimes and one in four will die from the disease," Coccia said. "In 2015, approximately 96,400 Canadian women and 100,500 men will be diagnosed with cancer." Funds raised from the walk support personalized cancer medicine at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, which enables the centre's world-leasing clinicians and researchers under the direction of Dr. Tak Mak to detect cancers earlier, diagnose with more precision, target treatment for each patient and support patients and their families through the cancer journey. Sequeira had been wanting to honour his mother since her death but underwent two open-heart surgeries in his late 20s that prevented him from doing any physical activity for fundraising. "I knew I was going to have to have a valve replacement eventually but I think the stress of my mother's death accelerated the process," Sequeira said. "Eventually, I was given a clean bill of health so I started to look for a fundraiser to participate in." see Hope on p.15 A FUSION OF JAPANESE & CHINESE CUISINE IN THE HEART OF OAKVILLE! CELEBRATE FALL at AUGUST 8 ARE YOU TRULY DIVERSIFIED? A world-class asset manager--based in Oakville--Acorn invests over $100 million on behalf of institutions and accredited investors seeking true diversification to achieve beer portfolio returns and risk reduction. Let Acorn help you diversify your portfolio. Contact us to find out how at www.acorn.ca or 905-257-0773 DINE IN FOR ALL YOU CAN EAT LUNCH OR DINNER WWW.AUGUST8.CA 7 DAYS A WEEK 5 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER! OAKVILLE 280 North Service Road W. @ Dorval 905-338-6228 BURLINGTON 834 Brant Street WE DO TAKEOUT! HAMILTON 1 Wilson Wilson Street Street · 1066 Upper J James ames St. STONEY CREEK 835 P Paramount aramount Drive Drive 10% OFF Dinner only. Cash only & with this ad.