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On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox wrote in his diary: “Today is the day when everything begins,” starting hope in St. John’s.
On Saturday, Terry’s older brother Fred Fox returned to where he started 45 years ago, the path his brother did a few years ago.
“He can never imagine what these words mean in these years,” Fred Fox said.
After St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen arrived at City Hall, he placed the office chain around his neck, replicating the honor given to Terry Fox in 1980. Volunteers, cancer patients and cancer researchers gathered.
Before returning to the stairs of his brother on Saturday, Fox had spent a week visiting the school and talking to students about Terry Fox’s career to encourage more people to raise funds for cancer research.
Fred Fox said that he raised about $900 million in cancer research under the name Terry Fox, adding that his brother would be proud to see how he inspired people.
“People are living [a] “Because Terry started 45 years ago, the cancer diagnosis was because finding treatments for cancer is getting closer every day,” Fox said.
Remember 45 years ago
Terry Fox was 21 years old when he dipped his prosthetic right leg into the Atlantic Ocean and headed west, determined to extend the entire 8,000-kilometer shore to the coast of Victoria, British Columbia to raise funds.
After 143 consecutive days of running the equivalent of a daily marathon, his journey ended after 5400 kilometers near Thunder Bay, Ontario, when his legs spread his legs across his lungs. Ten months later, he passed away.
On Saturday, the crowd gathered at St. John’s Town Hall included those who were there when the fox started running.
In 1980, Bill Strong served as the field director for the Canadian Cancer Society Newfoundland Division and was the designated personnel resource staff when Terry Fox arrived. Strong is now an Anglican pastor in St. Peter’s Parish, NL Conception Bay
Strong said he spent some time with Terry Fox and became friends.
He remembers only a week’s notice that Terry Fox was coming, which means preparations were quick and improvised.
“We are not sure how this will go,” Strong said.
Terry Fox’s friendship changed Strong’s life and he said it was an honor to know him.
“He is pure about his career. It’s something that inspires us all into all our pursuits.”
The “key” to raise funds for cancer research
Today, the Terry Fox Foundation raises funds for innovative cancer research projects, including the Hope Cancer Center Network.
Sherri Christian, professor of biochemistry at Memorial University, who leads the network at the Atlantic Cancer Alliance, said the network was inspired by the mission of Terry Foc to bring Canadian researchers together to collaborate and implement precision medicine cancer treatments.
“Precision medicine is ensuring that patients get the right treatment at the right time for a particular cancer,” Christian said.
Christian added that fundraising is crucial and without it there would be no research.
Christian said the incident revitalized her energy to keep moving forward.
“Research can be hard. It doesn’t always go the way you want it,” she said. “To see fundraisers, people affected by cancer, are very motivated in the same room.”
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