When Jim Winslett was diagnosed with cancer the first time, he was in his late 40s, and he had an epiphany of sorts.
“It was at that point that I adopted the tenet I now live by, which is: if it doesn’t help someone or bring me joy, I don’t have time for it.”
Of course, Jim admits, this isn’t always possible, but as a guiding principle, it has served him well. And in turn it has driven him to serve others well, too.
Most recently, Jim set his sights on giving hope to those facing cancer. Diagnosed again with a second and very serious metastatic cancer, Jim turned his love of music into an unlikely source of inspiration.
“In a bizarre turn of events, I’m now a rap artist,” Jim proclaimed.
The rap part was quite a surprise, especially to Jim who was not a fan. But while preparing for what he thought might be the end of his life, he became enamored with two London rappers, Pete & Bas, whose pluck and resilience brought him joy.
Inspired to start fighting again, he created a rap song Ring my Bell under his newly formed rapper name ‘story.’ and is donating the proceeds from this song to Wellspring Alberta.
Check out the video is called Ring My Bell
Check out Jim’s fundraising page for Wellspring
The Back Story on the Rapper called ‘story.’
Jim was born into a musical family in rural Texas, and while growing up, he dabbled in piano, drums and trumpet, but none captured his fancy quite like the rich ambient sound of handbells, which he discovered in 1993.
While living in Houston, Jim worked for UPS and directed a handbell team before he married the love of his life and moved to Canada. Along with travel and various other adventures, he helped form the Bow River Musicians Handbell Society in Calgary, a group he continues to be devoted to.
“I have lived an amazingly interesting life. I am very fortunate in all the experiences I’ve had, people I’ve met, places I’ve been. And I don’t take any of that for granted,” he said.
In 2014, the year Jim joined his husband in Canada, he was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a slow-moving incurable cancer. While no immediate treatment was required, for Jim, this was a wake-up call — a sign that joy and helping others was his ticket to living well.
This philosophy would be put to the test years later, when in 2024, Jim was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and given 30 percent odds of survival.
Best intentions
“After weeks of radiation, I had no fight left in me at all. I was physically and mentally spent and very depressed. At that point my oncologist said to me that to even make it into those 30 per cent odds, I would have to believe that I could do this, I’d need a positive attitude, and I’d have to fight like hell. Well, I had none of those things in me,” said Jim.
To make matters worse, Jim developed an ileus — a dangerous intestinal blockage and ended up in hospital for a week. The treatment, including three days with a nasogastric tube, was so unbearable for Jim, it tested his will to live.
It was during this time that Jim experienced how people’s best intentions can sometimes have ill effects.
“Everyone around me was really trying their best to be caring and supportive — saying things like, ‘you can do this,’ and ‘atta boy Jim, you’ve got this, you can beat this thing.’ But those comments didn’t give me courage, they actually did the opposite — they made me angry. They didn’t know what I was going through. They didn’t know how hard it was. Their comments made it sound like all I had to do was think positive and I’d get through it easily, but this was anything but. Deep down what I was thinking is, I don’t have this — I can’t do it,” he said.
But Jim didn’t want to let his people down, so he carried on as though he did ‘have this,’ and in the meantime, quietly behind the scenes he was getting his life in order — creating ‘how to’ documents for all the roles he plays in organizations, so things could carry on and others wouldn’t suffer without him.
“I was preparing to die. And I made peace with this. I had no angst or bad feelings about dying because what I’ve already experienced and done is incredible. I’ve been so incredibly lucky. I thought, if I were to die tomorrow, I’d be fine. But what I wasn’t fine with was thinking about not being there for those who depend on me.”
Rap on Tap
Then one day while scrolling through YouTube, Jim discovered Pete & Bas, two 70-plus year-old grandpas who got bored in retirement and started rapping.
“I don’t like rap music — it has never been my thing, but watching these two old guys was hilarious and it actually blew my mind how good they were! So, I watched all their videos and I discovered that when I was watching Pete & Bas, I wasn’t depressed!”
Jim’s therapist noticed his lighter demeanor and asked him what had changed. When Jim told her, she prescribed daily doses of Pete & Bas rap videos and miraculously, Jim began to feel himself again.
He felt even more uplifted when he learned that Pete started his rapping career at 68 yrs of age while fighting cancer himself.
“I thought, you’ve got to be kidding me! I’m sitting here preparing to die and this guy is out there having the time of his life, doing something he loves and inspiring people — he’s doing sold out concerts over the world!” said Jim. “That flipped a switch in me. If he can do all of that, why am I sitting here giving up?”
Jim reached out to Pete and Bas by email and when they responded, he was moved to board a plane and go to one of their concerts in the UK. At the concert he was granted a backstage pass and invited on stage for a once in a lifetime experience, performing one of their rap songs with them.
When he came back, he was a new man. A man who would marry handbells with rap beats and help bring hope to people living with cancer.
Why Wellspring
When Jim discovered Wellspring, he could see right away the impact it has on people facing cancer.
“The minute I walked into the room at Wellspring, I could see on people’s faces how important Wellspring is. Everybody in that room knows what you’re dealing with and they’re not trying to convince you ‘you’ve got this’ when you’re scared and you’re not sure you can get up in the morning. This kind of support is different from family and friends. Just being with people who understand is incredibly powerful,” said Jim.
Feeling extremely fortunate to be surrounded by love and fortified by music, Jim observed that many people feel alone in their cancer journey, and Wellspring is more than a support community, for some it’s a surrogate family.
“I’ve heard people say if it hadn’t been for Wellspring they don’t know if they would have made it. That Wellspring understands what you need, when you need it, and how you need it — and this makes all the difference in the world. And that’s exactly why I chose Wellspring for this fundraiser.”
This Beat Goes On
Sadly, after beating prostate cancer, in 2025, cancer was detected in several of Jim’s bones, which turned out to be metastasis from his lymphoma. Chemotherapy followed and he rang his victory bell for the second time in his life on July 21, 2026. The cancer is almost certain to return, but he says he’s hoping for a good 10 years or more before he has to deal with it again.
In the meantime, Jim continues to beat the odds with handbell-infused rap beats — a constant source of joy and a way to help others.
“I have been fortunate to have had really great role models (like Pete) in my life and if I can turn around and be that role model for someone else, then that’s the biggest honour of my life.”
**Any time Ring My Bell is streamed (listened to or watched), Wellspring will benefit. But to make it count even more, people can purchase the song on a platform called Bandcamp at a minimum cost of $1.50. If purchasers choose to pay more than this amount, it all goes to Wellspring Alberta**