Terry Fox & World Cancer Day 2022

Terry Fox

Yesterday was #worldcancerday. Today hundreds of Canadians and other cancer activists in the UAE ran to raise awareness and funds for cancer research as part of the annual Terry Fox Run.

Terry Fox’s story isn’t well known outside of Canada - he is a Canadian icon, indeed he was voted Canada's Greatest Hero in 1999.

In 1980, more than a decade before the internet and +30 years before "going viral" he captured the imagination of millions of Canadians when he, with one leg having been amputated due to a kind of cancer called Osteosarcoma, he embarked on an east to west cross-Canada run called "The Marathon of Hope" to raise money and awareness for cancer research - comprising consecutive full marathons (42 km). He ran more than 5,000 km (for reference, a distance equivalent to almost the width of North America) with a prosthetic leg before his osteosarcoma returned and metastasized to his lungs, killing him.?

Terry ran alone with a friend to drive a support vehicle and cook his meals. There was no fanfare at the beginning, and Terry suffered tremendous pain and terrible conditions but he would not give up. As word spread the Marathon of Hope picked up momentum and national attention, and Fox's Marathon raised nearly CAD $2 million in 1980. After Terry Fox passed away, over 300,000 people took part and raised CAD $3.5?million in the first Terry Fox Run in 1981.

The legacy Terry Fox left behind is a powerful testament to his determination and spirit. In more than 60 countries all over the world, locally organized Terry Fox Runs continue to raise funds and awareness for Canada.

Since the first Terry Fox Run in 1981, the efforts of cancer activists running in his name approaches CAD $1 Billion.

Anyone who works in healthcare and has lived in Canada knows how important Cancer Research is in Canada, and the impact of the science done in Terry Fox's home country.

Patrick Lee -- now based at Nova Scotia's Dalhousie University -- spearheaded the study of oncolytic viruses. Oncolytic viruses can shut down cancerous cells without harming healthy surrounding cells. The field is now the focus of a major program of the Terry Fox Foundation.

Dr. Andrew Padmos, commissioner of Cancer Care Nova Scotia and chairman of the Dalhousie Cancer Research Program, said if Terry Fox was to be treated today:

"There's a far greater likelihood that Terry would have been running on his own legs."

If Terry’s story inspired you, please consider contributing to cancer research through the Terry Fox Foundation or supporting people fighting cancer through another local cancer foundation.

World Cancer Day 2022 - Close the Gap

The theme of World Cancer Day this year is #closingthecaregap in recognition of the inequities in cancer care around the globe. Some of these are systemic but are all tragic, ranging from lack of access to information, diagnostics, or actual treatment.

In 2021, more than 10,000,000 lost their lives to cancer. Two of my family’s loved ones were among them - one, like Terry Fox, to metastatic osteosarcoma; and one whom the system failed, with COVID-19 overwhelming local healthcare resources in Canada and the diagnosis came too late. Their stories are like those of millions around the world.

We must #closethecancercaregap. Funding research is one of the key ways to do this.

Another key opportunity is to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and stay updated with boosters. Millions still resist vaccination without recognizing the strain it continues to place on healthcare systems. In many countries around the world, vaccines are still hard to access. Like many other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all disease care have nullified or set back the progress we have gained against so many illnesses these past decades.

We cannot afford to let disinformation, lack of education, misplaced scepticism, or outright selfishness make the diseases that kill our loved ones go undiagnosed or unchecked unnecessarily, wasting the efforts of patients, scientists, and medical professionals to find ways to fight or cure disease.

?My Dubai Terry Fox Run 2022

Terry insisted that the races in his name would always be noncompetitive so as many people as possible could feel and be included. It was a great opportunity to spend the day with family at the stunning Dubai Expo 2020 venue.

My Terry Fox run was a little different than that of my compatriots. As every new parent finds out, getting out of the house with an infant is unpredictable and we arrived late.

I was the last person out of the “Start” gate about 1 hour after the first cohort - I ran my 5 km course alone.

I couldn't help but feel a visceral connection to Terry's Marathon of Hope, and chose not to run with music. My mind drifted instead between memories of loved ones lost to cancer.

This intensified as I past the 4 km mark - the event team was tearing down, and like Terry I never saw the "Finish" line as I rejoined family near the start point. That moment will stay with me as a reminder that the race against cancer is never over.

Though many patients now fight and win, and many cancers have been made “chronic illnesses” due to medical and scientific advances, millions every year still don’t finish the race.

?Today I ran in honour of Ammaar, Hugh, Lee, and Ken - and in celebration of Catriona and Matt.

SFR 5 February 2022