Linda “The Liquidator” Kash and Megan “The Mauler” Murphy will once again be zipping into their velour tracksuits, ready to fight it out during the fifth annual Cancer Takedown at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 5 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough — and this time, there’s someone new they’re fighting for.
The event, which is a fundraiser for cancer care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC), will mark the first time Kate Brioux is taking to the stage after undergoing her own cancer journey this past year.
“Cancer has changed so much about how I see things now, and the team at Cancer Takedown is just such a perfect example of positivity and joy because they have made such a scary situation just a little less scary for me,” Brioux says. “What a new perspective I have on the disease, what a new perspective I have on healthcare, what a new perspective I have on the role of nurses — and they just don’t get enough recognition.”
Brioux has been performing at the fundraiser since the second annual Cancer Takedown, which was first held in 2022. This year, she will be performing alongside her fellow The Hicks bandmates and best friends Kate Suhr and Melissa Payne. Other special guests include Beau Dixon, The Weber Brothers, Nicholas Campbell, Brandon Munroe and Ian McKeown, as well as Anthony Bastianon and Good Medicine.
Cancer Takedown was founded by Amy and Rick Kemp after he was diagnosed with two separate cancers for which he has undergone radiation, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, and a stem cell transplant since 2018.
As Rick and Amy continue to cope with the life-changing aftermath, the goal of Cancer Takedown has always been to get people talking about cancer and the toll it takes, while still being a “spirit-raiser” for anyone touched by the disease.
“When I heard Rick was sick, it broke my heart,” recalls Murphy, who had worked with him professionally. “He’s young and vibrant and active and I thought ‘This can’t happen.’ When he turned that into something so inspiring — and you can’t stop his creativity — I wanted to get behind that in the way of solidarity and a way of bringing people together.”
Through song and story, Cancer Takedown calls attention to the emotional and mental burden of cancer on a patient and their loved ones, while uniting people through that shared experience.
“I have not had cancer treatment myself, but I have held the hands of many people who have, and you will be sick for a long time and then that ends, but the roller coaster that happens inside of you — from treatment, from looking at mortality, from the way your body changes, all of it — that takes a long time and it unravels in different ways,” Murphy says, noting “aftercare is one of the least discussed pieces.”
“Cancer Takedown is for people like that — who have been in the trenches. They get it.”
For those who might think a show with “cancer” in its name will be heavy, Murphy insists it’s nothing but joyful.
“You can’t measure how the spirit is, but you can feel it, and you can feel it when you’re in a room full of other people,” she says.
“It is the antidote to depression and the heaviness that comes with a diagnosis, or from loving people with a diagnosis — being together, being able to have the hard conversations, and then being able to make completely inappropriate jokes about it.”
Brioux adds that, for her, Cancer Takedown is also now an opportunity to share her thanks with the team at PRHC after her own cancer journey.
After experiencing a lot of back pain during last year’s Cancer Takedown, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma — a type of blood cancer — in February. She immediately started treatment at PRHC and describes the nursing staff as “walking Earth angels.”
“You have to imagine that you were delivered the most terrifying news of your life and they just treated you with respect, with dignity, and answered all of the questions,” Brioux says. “They were kind and patient and just took the time to support me. I truly believe they are not just treating cancer in there. They are treating me as a human.”
Over the past many months, Brioux says she learned treatment is not just about “medicine and treatments and your doctor.”
“It’s really about human connection,” Brioux points out. “Having them there to take that time and to check in on you .. it’s so huge. It goes above and beyond, and how lucky are we to have this in our own backyard? What a gift it is to be local, to be at home, and to have them as truly a part of your tribe. I just want to make sure that continues.”
Brioux admits she’s “nervous” to get back on stage again but knows she’ll be well-supported, and is reassured knowing it’s going to a worthy cause.
“If I could provide just an ounce of relief for a split second for anybody’s who’s going through the most terrifying time of their life, where it’s just full of uncertainty and questions — if I can do that for one hour, it’s worth every second. That’s why I do it: just to spread a tiny bit of joy.”
“This year, for me and for all of us, I think will be even more powerful because we’ve all been touched in this group very drastically,” adds Murphy, referring to Brioux’s journey.
“It’s personal to us now — it always was, but even more so — and so it’s going to be an even bigger spirit-raiser this year. We’re going to celebrate the resiliency, the tenacity, the incredible humans. You don’t want to go through any of this stuff, but if you do you become even stronger than you ever thought possible.”
Tickets to Cancer Takedown are priced at $40 plus fees for assigned general seating and $50 plus fees for assigned cabaret table seating. To buy tickets, visit tixr.com/groups/markethall/events/cancer-takedown-2026-207323.
