February 2024. Gilles Bouffard collapses at home, without knowing why. The diagnosis comes two days later: M3 acute leukemia. A rare, brutal, unpredictable form.
He’s taken by ambulance to Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne, where there’s no mincing words:
He has a 50% chance of survival.
An unimaginable challenge begins.
40 days in total isolation.
Immune system at zero.
9 chemotherapy pills every day.
His body is weakened. The fear is unrelenting. Raymonde, his wife, sleeps in a chair by his side.
March 19 brings good news: he is in remission.
“Some days, I just wanted to give up. But I stayed positive. I had no choice.”
But there was no respite. Gilles relapsed, this time with prostate cancer.
2 brachytherapy treatments. 25 radiation treatments. Weeks of discomfort. Fatigue. Pain. Solitude.
And yet, it’s in this Hospital that he found his strength.
companionship. encouragement
Today, Gilles dreams about going back to 28-30 km/h, like before.
His body struggles to keep up.
But his heart keeps peddling.
“We don’t talk enough about cancer in seniors. And yet… it destroys lives.”
If he could offer something more to others?
“ companionship. encouragement. Because there is life after cancer. The fight is worth it.”
The Tour des Battants
Giving… giving everything you’ve got.
Gilles spent over 145 days at Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne. Where he was fed, treated and supported.
He has not forgotten anything. Not the compassionate faces of the staff. The encouragement. The small gestures.
And especially, his conviction: I had to give back.
“This is where I was fed, where I lived, where I was cured. I’m forever indebted.”
And this is how The Tour des Battants was born. A 75-km cycling event that Gilles launched with his own strength and that of Raymonde.
No committee. No big team. Just the two of them, their hearts and their network.
“I gave everything I had. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally.”
Goal: $15,000 for oncology research.
A small step, he thought. A drop of water in the ocean.
But with each drop, we can make waves…
Today, Gilles dreams about going back to 28-30 km/h, like before.
His body struggles to keep up.
But his heart keeps peddling.
“We don’t talk enough about cancer in seniors. And yet… it destroys lives.”
If he could offer something more to others?
“ companionship. encouragement. Because there is life after cancer. The fight is worth it.”
What if you did what Gilles did?
Do you want to give back in your own way?
Organizing a personal fundraiser benefit event is another way to make a real difference.
🎯 Every initiative counts.
💙 Every gesture supports patients here.
🚴♂️ Like Gilles, you can do something… something that reflects who you are.
See what other people in the community are doing to support patients at Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne.
