My Story
Written by: Gillian Alton
My name is Gillian Alton and I am the Chair of the Tour de Elora Fundraiser. This event is near and dear to my heart. I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer 6 years ago, at the age of 31. I had surgery at Groves Memorial Hospital, followed by 4 grueling months of chemotherapy and 21 daily radiation treatments at the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre in Kitchener. I received amazing care and support from the staff, volunteers and health care professionals at the Cancer Centre - and still do today at my follow up visits. I also received amazing support from the Elora community. Our friends, neighbours, family and local business owners were a tremendous support throughout my treatment and recovery. I moved to this community 8 years ago, and it blows me away what an incredible community I have the privilege to be a part of.
Many people ask me how Rich, Taylor (of RT Health Company) and I came to be business partners and the truth is cancer brought us together. Chemotherapy had been very hard on me and I needed help to get my strength back. Rich and Taylor had recently opened RT Health Company in Elora. I met with Rich and Taylor and signed up for personal training on the spot! They went above and beyond to help me - including doing extensive research on techniques and exercises that would be best for my recovery. My journey to reach my goals were slow (much slower than I would have liked), but Rich and Taylor didn't let me get discouraged. They pushed me to never give up! 5 years later, and I still train each week at RT Health Company.
Over the years, we became good friends, and when it came time for RT Health Company to grow to include a 24-hour fitness centre, I was honoured to partner with them to open Elora Fitness and Performance Centre in November 2018. In October 2019, it seemed fitting to create the Tour de Elora Fundraiser during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness on young adult breast cancer and raise money for an incredible organization that helps so many people in our community with cancer.
While cancer was the thing that brought us together - the journey was the reward! Thank you for supporting our fundraiser!
Written by: Gillian Alton
My name is Gillian Alton and I am the Chair of the Tour de Elora Fundraiser. This event is near and dear to my heart. I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer 6 years ago, at the age of 31. I had surgery at Groves Memorial Hospital, followed by 4 grueling months of chemotherapy and 21 daily radiation treatments at the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre in Kitchener. I received amazing care and support from the staff, volunteers and health care professionals at the Cancer Centre - and still do today at my follow up visits. I also received amazing support from the Elora community. Our friends, neighbours, family and local business owners were a tremendous support throughout my treatment and recovery. I moved to this community 8 years ago, and it blows me away what an incredible community I have the privilege to be a part of.
Many people ask me how Rich, Taylor (of RT Health Company) and I came to be business partners and the truth is cancer brought us together. Chemotherapy had been very hard on me and I needed help to get my strength back. Rich and Taylor had recently opened RT Health Company in Elora. I met with Rich and Taylor and signed up for personal training on the spot! They went above and beyond to help me - including doing extensive research on techniques and exercises that would be best for my recovery. My journey to reach my goals were slow (much slower than I would have liked), but Rich and Taylor didn't let me get discouraged. They pushed me to never give up! 5 years later, and I still train each week at RT Health Company.
Over the years, we became good friends, and when it came time for RT Health Company to grow to include a 24-hour fitness centre, I was honoured to partner with them to open Elora Fitness and Performance Centre in November 2018. In October 2019, it seemed fitting to create the Tour de Elora Fundraiser during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness on young adult breast cancer and raise money for an incredible organization that helps so many people in our community with cancer.
While cancer was the thing that brought us together - the journey was the reward! Thank you for supporting our fundraiser!