I t started with a pact. Two friends sitting down and having a chat, compelled to do something more with their life. They brainstormed an idea, and maybe it would amount to nothing, they thought; but they needed to try. Who knows, maybe they could save a life?

"It started, Jason [Bosa] and I started discussing this a little more than a year and a half ago," said Del Ferguson, a Port Coquitlam resident calling in from North Platte, Nebraska.

But it quickly grew into something more. Four motorcycles, friends and an entourage of people behind them later, Ferguson was on kilometre 7,700 of his 30,000-km motorcycle fundraiser all in the name of cancer prevention.

The group, consisting of Ferguson and fellow riders Jason Bosa, Lori Bryan and Dr. Christina Tondora, is making its way across 10 Canadian provinces and 48 U.S. states in 65 days.

"Originally we thought we would raise money for prostate and breast cancer, but once Lori got involved, we got the prevention angle," he said.

Ferguson is travelling with his friends and members from the Answer for Cancer group aiming to change the way people live, in however small a way, to hopefully prevent cancer.

"Even if they cut out one can of soda a day, that one can turns into seven cans in a week," he said.

It's promoting this philosophy, Ferguson believes, that will help reduce the chances of people being diagnosed with cancer. Not by medicine or treatments after it's diagnosed, but by leading a healthier lifestyle before anything ever happens.

"Things as simple as sugar can breed cancer cells," he said. "There are so many chemicals and processed foods that cancer has been linked to."

Ferguson believes by doing this North American tour, named the ACT 2011 Tour, he will be able to teach as many folks as possible so they won't have to deal with what his family has already gone through.

His grandmother had a long battle with cancer before finally succumbing to it, and his mother is a breast cancer survivor.

But Ferguson knows he's not alone, as he said everyone he knows has somehow been affected by cancer, whether it be a family member, friend or themselves.

"On our first day on our way from Vancouver to Portland, one of our first gas stops, the lady in the gas station says to me, 'What are you guys doing?

What's going on?'" he said.

"We explained and she started to tear up. It turns out she lost her husband a year and a half ago to cancer. And it's not only her, but just about every person I've talked to."

During his motorcycle journey down and around North America, Ferguson and his crew will be speaking at scheduled events. All funds raised in Canada will stay in the country, going to the Prevent Cancer Now organization. In the United States, all funds will be raised for the Breast Cancer Fund.

The tour will finish on Aug. 13 when the crew makes its final 384-kilometre trek from Kelowna back down to Vancouver.

This is a trip Ferguson swears will not stop no matter what.

"We've already had a broken-down bike," he said. "But we get it into the shop, get it fixed and have them catch up."

"It's not an option not to finish," he added. "We're absolutely going to make it through."

For more information about the tour, or information on how to donate, please visit www.answerforcancertour.com.

editorial@thenownews.com