Chris Van Berkum
©Peter J. Thompson/National Post
Chris Van Berkum, his daughter Grace and their dog Brendal

From breast cancer to diabetes, the modern response to major illness is often a group physical activity to raise money and awareness. In an occasional series, reporter Katie Rook is documenting how such an event begins.

Chris Van Berkum limped out of his doctor's office in 1995 with advice to arrange his funeral. The specialist suspected that the aching in Van Berkum's leg signalled the return of a cancer he had successfully fought off five years earlier. It would be three months before a scan could confirm a diagnosis and if the cancer had spread to his bones, the doctor said survival was so unlikely that a hospital bed would have to go to someone with a better chance.

Van Berkum refused to accept such a prognosis and turned to yoga and an improved diet to regain his health. "The doctor will give you a sentence ... and then if you believe that, it will become a prophecy fulfilled. I resisted that. I didn't believe the doctor.

"I didn't say much, but inside of me, I didn't believe what he said. I have learned never to accept that."

Van Berkum, now 74, has been cancer-free since 2001 and admits that every day is framed by a series of decisions about how to best stay healthy. He eats a macrobiotic diet that consists mainly of vegetables and protein, walks at least two hours daily with his dog Brendal to stave off osteoporosis and continues to practice yoga.

His determination to stay healthy through activity mirrors that of many Canadians who are fighting cancer, in part, through physical fitness.

My friend Catherine Blackwood is preparing to complete her first triathlon on June 1, despite being diagnosed with carcinoid, a neuroendocrine cancer, about two years ago.

A 52-year-old mother of eight boys and two girls, Catherine will be joined by her children and husband Robert as well as extended family and dozens of friends at the race in Norfolk, Va.

When the Blackwoods created a foundation, Blackwood Caring, in Catherine's honour and named the Breezy Point triathlon as their launch event, I was inspired to join. Training for the one-kilometre ocean swim, 20-kilometre cycle and five-kilometre run has tested my physical limits, leaving me baffled by Catherine's strength.

At the pool, when my arms and stomach are burning and I am inhaling water while trying to breathe, I have thought of Catherine swimming up to 10 kilometres weekly. She has also been lifting weights and biking while receiving treatment, managing a family business, continuing with her passion for piano and of course nurturing relationships with her brood, who range from 14 to 32 years in age.

In writing twice monthly about the training process, I have encountered dozens of people whose lives are touched by cancer. Chris Van Berkum is the father of Grace, a nutritionist, whom I met last month at Revolution Fitness in down-town Toronto where trainers are helping me prepare for the race.

Last week, trainer Greg Vail amended my workout to include iso-lateral incline presses which are like sitting pushups on a machine. To strengthen my thighs for better kicking, I must also do elephants -- an aptly named exercise that leaves me feeling as lumbering and slow as the mammoth.

Between twice-weekly visits to the gym for strengthening and cardio, thrice-weekly visits to the pool, a weekly spinning class at Quad in downtown Toronto and at least one run, I am exhausted.

Fear has also begun to creep in, not so much because I am running out of time to train, but because of a report last week that a triathlete training in California was killed by a great white shark. I emailed Naomi, Catherine's daughter, to express concern and was further disturbed to learn that Naomi had once seen a great white shark washed up on a beach in North Carolina. Looking at a map, the swim from North Carolina to Norfolk, Va., where the race is taking place, would be nothing for a shark.

Triathlon training can be gruelling and some seeking health choose an entirely different form of sport.

The teachings of a yogi helped Van Berkum extricate himself from a habit of living which, he believes, was eroding his health. Yoga, he says, taught him the value of bringing his body and mind closer to each other.

"I set myself on a journey to find out what I am. If I know what I am, what my purpose is, then I would handle life with more efficiency, I would not waste my time.

"Most people don't know what the purpose of life is. I think the purpose of life is to know yourself. You are on a journey to discover who you are.

"These were the things that motivated me; this was a question of motivation, where I took the energy to do what I am doing."

For my part, the world seems a better place when you exercise and eat well. My mind seems clearer, my patience and focus more abundant. Such are the benefits of living with optimal health as your goal, says Van Berkum.

"You have to justify your life. If you want something, you have to do something. You need something to live for, a purpose.

"If you're clear in your mind what life is all about, then you know what you're doing. You have more self-confidence because you're doing what you're supposed to do. You're doing your job. You're motivated by something greater than yourself."

-Learn more about the Blackwoods and donate to their cause at blackwoodcaring. com. Also, check out canadarunningseries. com/spor tinglife/ for info on the upcoming Sporting Life 10K, a run to benefit Camp Oochigeas, a summer camp for kids with cancer.