Obituary: The inspiring marathon of Sindy Hooper

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Sindy Hooper, a hospital administrator and elite triathlete who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer more than 11 years ago, has completed her courageous cancer marathon.

Hooper radiated warmth, optimism and positivity, and maintained those qualities throughout her arduous marathon, raising more than half a million dollars for cancer research. She lived by the motto, “Make every moment count,” and it became the rallying cry for her fundraising efforts.

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Hooper died late Friday with medical assistance. She was 61.

Her husband, Dr. Jon Hooper, said she passed away “in typical Sindy style:” courageously, gracefully, surrounded by friends.

“There is no way I can coherently express what an incredible person, friend, wife, and mother she is,” Cooper wrote. “I deliberately used ‘is’ because I am so hopeful that all those important things that Sindy taught us will live on with us: courage, dreaming big, loving life even in difficult times, not being afraid to fail, and truly making every moment count.”

Hooper said his wife was fun, generous, giving and adventurous. “She always had this attitude, you know, ‘We sometimes fall down, so let’s get up, and get on with it, and enjoy stuff,’ ” he said Monday.

Tim Kluke, president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, said Hooper touched thousands of lives. “She inspired people to run, and then run with a purpose. That will be her legacy.”

In May, Hooper walked the 5K race during Ottawa Race Weekend with Stage IV cancer, and raised $66,000 with her MEMC crew to bring her fundraising total to $514,000. “What’s great about that number is that it represents people who are sponsoring friends, running for the first time,” said Kluke. “Sindy was always encouraging others to get involved. That’s what Sindy did.”

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Hooper grew up in Blackburn Hamlet, where she played basketball and volleyball at Gloucester High School before studying health administration at the University of Ottawa.

She took up running in her 40s to help a friend train for the half-marathon. Then a single mother of two and a human resources manager at The Ottawa Hospital, Hooper did so well in her first Ottawa Marathon that she qualified for the Boston Marathon — a lifetime achievement for most runners.

The following year, another friend invited her to train for a sprint triathlon. At the time, she didn’t even own a bike. But Hooper quickly fell in love with the sport, and brought others to it.

In June 2012, she competed in her first half Ironman (two-km swim, 90-km bike, 21.1-km run). Two months later, she finished the full Ironman Mont Tremblant in a time of 11 hours 38 minutes, and narrowly missed an invite to the world championships.

She resolved to cut 38 minutes from her time at the Ironman Canada race in Whistler, B.C., the following year.

But in late 2012, Hooper experienced some abdomen and lower back pain; her skin was itchy and she was tired. Early in the new year, her husband, a critical care physician who shared her passion for endurance sports, noticed a touch of jaundice in her eyes, and arranged an emergency ultrasound.

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Jon Hooper stood beside the technician during the test. As soon as the probe touched his wife’s skin, he recognized the shape of a tumour on the computer screen. The radiologist later confirmed she had pancreatic cancer.

The diagnosis was devastating. Hooper had none of the common risk factors — smoking, diabetes, obesity — and no family history of the disease.

About three-quarters of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within the first year since it tends to develop with few symptoms. In Canada, only about 10 per cent of patients survive five years.

Hooper’s disease was discovered early enough that she qualified for a Whipple procedure, a complex, 10-hour surgery during which parts of the stomach, pancreas, small intestines and gall bladder are removed. She lost 18 pounds, but five weeks later, Hooper began training again after her son, Chris, convinced her it was better to feel lousy on a bike than feel lousy on the couch.

Hooper discovered that running, swimming and biking made her feel like an athlete again, not a cancer patient. It also helped squelch the fear.

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In August 2013, while still undergoing chemotherapy, she flew to Whistler and crossed the Ironman Canada finish line in a little more than 16 hours. She also raised $50,000 for cancer research.

For most of the next decade, Hooper lived in six-month intervals, from CT scan to CT scan. Each time the test confirmed her cancer had not returned, she planned another round of training and travel.

Hooper completed two Ironman races and 15 triathlons, including world championships in Mexico and Switzerland. She ran the Ottawa and Boston marathons.

“The more I can do it, the more it makes me happy,” she once explained. “Training gives me a lot of joy and makes me feel healthy.”

Then, a CT scan in August 2021 revealed a tumour in her lung. She underwent surgery and more chemotherapy, but the following September, she learned the cancer had spread once again. She had chemotherapy every two weeks to keep the cancer in check.

In December, she secured a place in a U.S. clinical trial, which brought positive results that allowed her more happy moments. In August, however, Hooper was told her cancer had spread. She developed pneumonia and declined rapidly.

Sindy Hooper was one of Canada’s longest-surviving pancreatic cancer patients.

Jon Hooper is planning a memorial run in his wife’s honour on Nov. 9.

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