Emotionally charged Terry Fox Run Kick-off in Bronte

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On Monday, June 27, at the Firehall in Bronte, a group gathered to celebrate what turned out to be an emotional kick-off for the Terry Fox Run, which takes place on September 18, 2022. 

This is an annual event, and despite a stress fracture in my foot, I wasn’t going to miss it. Oakville is the fourth overall top fundraiser for the foundation in Ontario and the sixth nationally. To date, the Oakville Terry Fox run has raised $2.9 million, and this year intends to surpass $3 million. 

The tears started flowing early as CFL receiver and Canadian Football Hall of Fame recipient Tony Gabriel spoke about his relationship with Terry Fox. As Gabriel shared how much he admired Terry Fox, he was stunned to learn that Terry Fox looked up to him. 

MP Pam Damoff and chair of the Oakville Terry Fox Run, found herself worrying about not wearing waterproof makeup as she welled up while honouring long-time Oakville volunteer Carol Dalby with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award. Carol also found tears rolling down her cheeks as well. 

Carol’s son David Visschedyk inspired her dedication to the Terry Fox Foundation. At a young age, David faced the same cancer diagnosis as Fox, osteogenic sarcoma, and like Fox, he also lost his right leg. However, her David survived.  

Visschedyk is a litigator and managing partner of AMR LLP, thanks to the incredible progress in cancer treatment. 

That progress was possible due to incredibly talented individuals like Dr. Mark Minden, whose cancer treatment research at UHN receives funding from the Terry Fox Foundation. Dr. Minden shared the incredible progress that has been made in treating Cancer. 

Minden explained that the advancement in cancer research allows patient-specific treatment. Doctors understand what type of treatment will have the best results. Now, a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. 

This information was bittersweet. 

My mom passed away on the 18th floor at Princess Margaret Hospital in November 1995, after she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in July of that year. A non-smoker and very active woman, she was only 63 years old and would be celebrating her 90th birthday on July 5. We not only lost a wonderful mom, but my son lost the experience of a loving and fun grandmother. 

Looking around the room, everyone had some dear to them taken by Cancer. MP Damoff lost her 57-year-old mom, and Tony Gabriel lost his brother. We all wanted to be spared the incredible pain and loss when the people we loved were taken far too early. 

Now we work towards ensuring others don’t lose their lives or the life of someone they care for because of Cancer. We understand that Cancer has not been eradicated, continuing to leave mothers, fathers, brothers, daughters and sons grieving.

The only way to alleviate that pain is to ensure that incredible researchers such as Dr. Minden have the funds to keep investigating ways to treat and hopefully beat Cancer. 

You can help by participating in the Oakville Terry Fox Run on September 18, 2022, supporting a local team or buying a t-shirt at one of the pop-up events being held by volunteers. Click Oakville Terry Fox Run to learn how you can help.