Improving your soccer skills might help a Canadian Olympian overcome a diagnosis of Stage 4 breast cancer.
On Thursday, July 18, Port Moody Soccer Club (PMSC) is hosting a special skills camp at Trasolini Field from 5 to 7 p.m.
PMSC executive director Srdjan Djekanovic, a former Canadian national team player who also suited up for the Vancouver Whitecaps, as well as Toronto's and Montreal's Major League Soccer clubs, will lead participants of all ages and abilities through dribbling, passing, shooting and defensive drills to help build their confidence on the pitch.
Also on hand will be Canadian soccer Olympian Brittany Baxter.
Proceeds from the workshop go towards a special GoFundMe campaign that’s raising money so two-time Canadian Olympic rower Krista Guloien Temple can get special treatment for her Stage 4 breast cancer that could “significantly” extend her life, said her sister, Marla Guloien, who lives in Coquitlam.
Guloien Temple was born in New Westminster and grew up in Port Moody. She was part of the Canadian women’s 8 team that won a silver medial at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and had already beaten a breast cancer diagnosis in 2022. But last March, after breaking her arm while opening a jar of pickles , doctors discovered the disease was back and had spread into her bones.
Guloien Temple started her journey to the Olympics at a learn-to-row program while attending Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. By the time she graduated, she was part of Canada’s national team and in 2008 she competed at her first Olympics.
Since retiring from competitive rowing, Guloien Temple has written a book, Beyond the Finish Line, recounting her ascension to the top of her sport and the challenges after her athletic career ended. She’s also a mother to two kids, acts as a mentor to other young athletics and gives motivational talks.
Guloien Temple’s advanced intratumoral immunotherapy treatment was pioneered by a Florida doctor, Dr. Gary Onik. It uses immunologic medications targeted specifically at tumours rather than a more traditional blanket approach that also impacts healthy tissue.
The private therapy will cost Guloien Temple’s family upwards of $250,000.
But the payoff is priceless, said her sister, Marla.
“Krista is an indomitable spirit and has always been a pillar of strength to those in her life,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page that launched shortly after her sister’s diagnosis and has already raised more than $52,000. “Throughout her life she has inspired us with her unwavering courage, unyielding determination and infectious bravery.”
Other fundraising efforts include a run from Vancouver to Whistler by endurance athlete and former Canadian national water polo player Matt Christopherson that occurs in September and a 24km bike ride up Eagle Mountain that was held July 13.
Marla Guloien said time is of the essence.
“We can rally around her in this time of need,” she said.
