Ariadne Holness de Hiller isn’t about to let the good things in life pass her by.
She would much rather grab on and drive that train herself..
The daughter of a national team basketball coach in her native Panama, long before she settled in Prince George with her husband Bruce to raise three national-class speed skaters, Holness de Hiller was a volleyball player and track and field sprinter. The will to train and push her body to its limits fuelled her competitive fire and paid off in a couple of high school volleyball national titles. But it wasn’t until she was into her sixth decade, facing cancer, that Holness de Hiller faced her ultimate challenge, one that tested her fighting spirit like no other before.
Thanks to a cutting-edge medical research team in Vancouver and the quick thinking of her family doctor in Prince George who ordered the ultrasound test that detected her endometrial (uterine) cancer a year ago, Holness de Hiller has beaten her disease. She had surgery in Vancouver and was given a clean bill of health after her treatments at the BC Cancer Centre for the North in Prince George.
Healthy again, it’s payback time for Holness de Hiller. She wants to thank the medical teams that saved her life and to do that she has signed up to ride 50 kilometres on her bike and committed to raise at least $15,000 in the BC Cancer Foundation’s Tour de Cure, Aug. 27 in the Fraser Valley.Tour de Cure is B.C’s biggest cycling fundraiser and in its 13-year history it has raised more than $110 million to fund cancer research and treatment programs.
“I’m a direct recipient of that money,” Holness de Hiller said. “I thought, I have to give back to the next group.”
She hadn’t ridden a bike since she was a teenager and it was a major adjustment getting used to clipping into her pedals and riding city streets, but she’s had plenty of help from local Wheelin’ Warriors of the North and has been a regular riding 30 or 40 km on the Warriors’ group rides. She’s been learning what it takes to ride in a pack of riders, knowing she will be among hundreds of Tour de Cure riders along the route to and from Chilliwack. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic and was held virtually last year. Riders have their choice of completing three distances/challenge levels - 50 km (Courage Level), 100 km (Champion Level) or 160 km (Challenge Level).
Holness de Hiller says she owes her life to Dr. Ann Neary, her family doctor for 28 years, who bypassed the months-long wait for a referral to a specialist and ordered the ultrasound exam that led to her cancer diagnosis on March 20, 2021. She knew something wasn’t right when she developed the sensation of what felt like carrying a ball between her legs and she’s glad she made that appointment. Dr. Neary’s referral led to a biopsy, blood tests, CT-scans, MRIs and surgery performed at Vancouver General Hospital.
Her cancer had not spread to other organs or the lymph nodes, but to reduce the risk of it returning, specialists at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver utilized a new molecular-based classification system that predicts the risk factors for endometrial cancer patients, a clinical process pioneered in Vancouver. It precisely determined the radiation and systemic (chemotherapy) treatments needed to rid her body entirely of cancer cells.
“I couldn’t have received better care,” said Holness de Hiller. “That appropriate treatment will certainly make me have a better outcome from my disease. When I received that I saw some people have put money in this research and I’m a direct recipient of that new discovery in 2019.”
When Holness de Hiller arrived at the BC Cancer Centre for the North for her first treatments in Prince George she walked into the building next to UHNBC on Lethbridge Street and saw a photo near the front entrance of Wheelin’ Warriors of the North team leader Karin Piche, part of display to thank her and her group for all the money the Warriors have raised for the cause through their rides.
“I thought, this is what I’m going to do, I’m going to raise funds for cancer research, because of that picture,” she said.
The 61-year-old Holness de Hiller, a geologist and mining consultant who works with her husband in their business, Omineca Diamond Drilling, is a veteran of volunteer fundraising drives. She’s always been her kids’ biggest booster and when they lived in the city developing as athletes she devoted much of her time as meet co-ordinator with the Prince George Blizzard Speed Skating Club. She still serves as a Blizzard club director and her work to develop officials in 2015 earned her the Speed Skating Canada Officials Award of Excellence. During her cancer treatments, Holness de Hiller decided to take a more active role as a patient and volunteered to be a subject for study groups to help enhance cancer centre care programs.
“There are two things I am passionate about: volunteering, and the other is research,” she said. “I joined two groups that resonate to me through the BC Cancer Agency, the Patient and Family Engagement and Gynaecological Cancer Initiatives, where we share our experiences in focus groups, participate in committees to design, review cancer care services, and create educational materials for patients and their families.
“On those meetings I witness brilliant minds working tirelessly and passionately doing clinical trials, immunotherapy research, applying machine learning and artificial intelligence tools and algorithms to better evaluate risk of cancer recurrence and deliver specialized and individualized treatments for better outcomes. This is just the tip of the mountain of research that is going on today. Also, I learned that the province of BC is a recognized world leader in the field of Gynaecological cancer. During my journey, I felt that the doctors, researchers, clinicians, and everyone at the BC Cancer Centre had my back.”
So far, Holness de Hiller has raised $3,640 of her $15,000 target. To sponsor her, go to the Tour de Cure webpage at https://tourdecure.ca/participant/2875902/4014/
All the money raised in Prince George stays in the city and this year’s Tour de Cure ride will help pay for precision high-dose radiation therapy equipment. In 13 years the Warriors have raised more than $1.2 million for cancer treatment equipment and research. Fifty-four Wheelin’ Warriors, including Holness de Hiller’s 25-year-old twins – Carolina and Nico – plan to join the ride in Chilliwack.
