Val McGowan had many of the symptoms: fatigue, a sore back, indigestion, vomiting, shortness of breath.
Not all at the same time, mind you, but, thinking back on the last year of her mother's life, Hayley McGowan says the signs of the pancreatic cancer that was behind them were all there.
But, "my mom wasn't a complainer," Hayley said.
"And she never had that investigated."
Val died on July 27 last year, just 27 days after being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer that was identified after recent shortness of breath was reported during a June 30, 2023 doctor's appointment that had been booked regarding concerns with a swollen ankle. She was 73 years old.
One year later, Hayley and her family continue to wonder just how much more time they could have reaped with their "vibrant" matriarch had the disease been caught sooner, with more options for treatment.
"If my mom would've had an opportunity to get treatment鈥� she could've been here another year, or maybe two, and maybe her two-year-old grandchildren 鈥� she had two 鈥� maybe they would've had a better opportunity of remembering her," Hayley said.
"She was ready to fight."
According to information at , pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect and, at advanced stages, resistant to treatment. It also has one of the lowest survival rates for cancer, with the majority of patients succumbing within a year of diagnosis, and fewer than 10 per cent of the 800 diagnosed every year in B.C. expected to live for five years.
This Sunday (July 28), cyclists with the common goal of bettering the odds for those diagnosed with the disease will tackle a 12-kilometre climb up Cypress Mountain, in BC Cancer Foundation's 16th Capilano Volkswagen Cypress Challenge.
Since inception, the event has raised more than $4.5 million 鈥� including $418,000 in 2023 鈥� for Pancreas Centre BC; a partnership between BC Cancer, Vancouver Coastal Health and University of B.C. focused on "early disease detection and the development of personalized treatments in pancreatic cancer."
Hayley, a South Surrey resident, Pilates instructor and avid cyclist, signed up for last year's challenge the day after her mom was diagnosed. She tackled the climb just three days after her mom died.
In the brief time she had to fundraise, Hayley amassed nearly $17,000 in donations for the cause. She said the strong support over those weeks helped lighten the weight of her mom's heart-wrenching journey.
"What that event did for my mother and myself and my brother was, it showed how much people cared about this disease, how many other people were affected through this disease," she explained.
Reporting the fundraising progress to her mom during visits at Peace Arch Hospital 鈥� where she emphasized her mom received "great" care 鈥� "gave us something to be really grateful for," she added.
"I felt supported by people who loved me, and my mom felt supported by people who didn't even know her."
This year, Hayley's husband, Kurt Marples, will make the event-day climb in her place, as she is in Sacramento for training to become a Pilates educator 鈥� an effort she knows her mom would be proud of.
Hayley didn't skip the physical side of the challenge, she just marked it off her calendar a little ahead of schedule, completing the trek up Cypress solo on July 14.
Hayley said she feels the race, in a way, keeps her mother's spirit alive. She already knows that by sharing her story, her mom has made a difference; not just through inspiring donations, but also by motivating Hayley 鈥� along with a couple of her friends, and who knows how many others 鈥� to get in the queue for genetic testing to determine if she is at increased risk of developing the disease.
"If I have the gene, I know I might have a fighting chance," she said. "So for me, this race represents my mother's legacy of being a part of change. It's her doing it with me, and her life, it didn't just end.
"I just feel like she's here fighting with me."
By boosting awareness around symptoms of pancreatic cancer, she added, "maybe another grandmother or grandfather might notice that, hey, I'm not feeling well, I'm going to go to the doctor, and maybe they do get that opportunity to have a little bit more time."
For more information, or to donate to Hayley's efforts, visit
