Halifax News Net

Osteogenic Sarcoma was the type of bone cancer that took Terry Fox’s leg.  He was 22 when he died.

Terry Fox lost his battle with cancer on June 28, 1981. Before he died, he raised $24.17 million for cancer research.

Today, the survival rate from this cancer is between 60 and 80 per cent. Before 1970, it was only 20 per cent. Cancer research has come a long way. If we had known then what we know now, Terry would still be running on his own two legs.
When he was forced to end his Marathon of Hope, he said, “Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep going without me.” And go it has. From these words, The Terry Fox Run was born. It’s still running strong and this year they celebrate the 29th annual run.
Terry was the inspiration behind the one-man cross-Canada tour in an effort to raise money for a cause. In a modest pair of Adidas and a prosthetic leg that would be considered crude by today’s standards, he ran a marathon of 42 kilometres per day for 143 consecutive days. The run continues to commemorate the incredible way in which Terry decided to raise money for cancer research. 
His goal was to raise a dollar for every Canadian. This was realized before his death on June 28, 1981, when $24.17 million had been raised in his name. He died at 4:35 a.m., his favourite time to run, when the world was just waking up.
To date, The Terry Fox Foundation has raised close to $450 million. Whether you’ve given 50 cents or a $1,000, you’ve contributed to The Marathon of Hope. This figure has been reached honouring the wishes set out by Terry and his code of ethics. This enables the foundation to directly apply 87 cents of every dollar toward cancer research, with the remaining 13 cents paying administration fees.
Turn off the television, put down the phone and get outside. We live in a technological world where we communicate through computers, and we can exercise indoors with a Wii. The Terry Fox Run is an excellent opportunity to pay tribute to one of Canada’s greatest heroes and to get outside and enjoy beautiful Nova Scotia in September. The run will take place on Sunday, Sept. 13. — Submitted

The foundation is looking for volunteers. If you are interested, call Barbara Fickes at 423-8131, or toll free at 1-888-836-9786, or email
ns@terryfoxrun.org.

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