Ice dancer Piper Gilles has more to celebrate than just making the Canadian figure skating team in 2026 2026 Olympic Games.
“I’m doing good, like, I am currently cancer free”, said Gilles, 34 years old Glitter & Gold: Dance on ice docuseries, now streaming on Netflix. “It took about two and a half years to feel like myself.”
She continued, “What I’ve learned is that I had to be a little more patient with myself, like right now, I couldn’t expect her to be 100% Piper because that 100% Piper isn’t there anymore.”
Gilles was diagnosed with stage I ovarian cancer in January 2023 in the middle of her career as a professional ice dancer.
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“A few years ago, I started feeling sick, just nausea and, like, period pains, specifically on the left side,” Gilles explained of her first symptoms. “I always had bad periods, but I said, ‘I’m not on my period right now, but something’s going on.’ Then (I) finally got in touch with my current doctor. On my birthday, January 16, 2023, the results came in. Of course, I opened it and said, ‘Oh, cancer.'”
Gilles, whose mother died in 2018 after battling brain cancer, further recalled as his own diagnosis it felt “so, so scary”.
“It’s like, ‘Am I going to have to stop skating? Will I have to go through chemo?’ There was so much unknown,” she said. “I was lucky enough to have surgery, like, we didn’t know how bad it was because it was a nine-centimeter cyst with the tumor, I believed, attached to it. I was very lucky that I didn’t have to do any other treatment, just follow-ups.”
According to Gilles, he “struggled” very hard in honor of his late mother.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier perform in the Ice Dance Free Dance competition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finland in Helsinki, Finland on November 22, 2025.
Mikko Stig / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUT“I fought to live the life she couldn’t see, you know?” Gilles said through tears in an interview for Glitter and gold. “If she could see me and what I’m doing, she’d be proud. It made me appreciate every moment of life. It’s like, every day I wake up and go to the track, it’s a blessing, even if it’s hard.”
He has partnered with Gilles Paul Poirier since 2011, they are going to compete together in the 2018 and 2022 Olympics, respectively. They will represent Canada on the ice again during the 2026 Games later this month, facing ice dancing rivals. Madison Chock i Evan Batesas well as Laurence Fournier Beaudry i Guillaume Cizeron.
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“I’m glad I could go through the hard stuff because the alternative is so much worse,” added Gilles. “In this 15-year journey of ours, Paul is my steady and loyal friend (and) partner. I wouldn’t be where I am without him. You just have to take that leap of faith that you’ve found the right match, and I know I definitely did.”
Poirier, 34, is equally grateful to have a supportive partner in Gilles.
“I’ve been amazed at the lives we’ve been able to live,” Poirier told the docuseries. “These experiences, these stories, these relationships (are) the things I will cherish the most.”
Glitter & Gold: Dance on ice it’s now streaming on Netflix.