Terry Fox

Terry FoxJeremy Gilbert [Public domain]Imagine learning you have cancer right as you’re about to enter adulthood. The future might look hopeless and grim. This unfortunately happened to Terry Fox, a normal guy who found out he had cancer at only 18. Although others believed this was tremendously sad, Fox thought otherwise and turned this sorrow into something that would help everyone. After the amputation of his right leg, which had cancer, he created something called the Marathon of Hope. At the mere age of 18, this small town Canadian boy planned to run from sea to sea for cancer research. He didn’t gain much attention and money at first, and he didn’t plan too, but later he was recognized as the nation's hero. The marathon raised $10 million for the Canadian Cancer Society, and overall helped raise more than $500 million for cancer research in all. Through this, the Canadian government gave him the Companion of the Order of Canada award. It is even said that “Terry Fox united Canada in 1980-81” (Ellison). He had shown the world that good can come from tragedy, no matter who you were before. Within the tragic and harsh beginning of Fox’s life, a few heroic attributes arose. A hero is someone who is hopeful and selfless; being a positive role model to all. Terry Fox was not only a great runner, but if you looked a little closer, he was also a true hero by providing many with hope and putting others before himself.

Other people may get down on themselves and think life may not become better due to cancer; Terry Fox acted differently by spreading hope. Fox focused on the positives, and through this undying hope, he created a happy future for himself: “Doctors amputated much of the leg within days. ‘We were told he had a 20 to 50 percent chance of survival,’ Betty recalls. Some two and a half years later, she was the first in the family he told of his plan to run across the country to raise funds to improve what he correctly concluded was the dismal state of Canadian cancer research” (MacQueen). Fox created an encouraging energy through his actions, not his words. It is said that Terry only had a 20 to 50 percent chance of living. He challenged this through his hope and survived. The hero within him showed others that even if life looks unfavorable, it gets better. Fox didn’t become down on himself, he stood by this mentality and two years later created a marathon for the disease that almost killed him. By focusing on becoming healthy again, he soon achieved his goal of surviving and thriving. His determination even caused him to go further with this hope: “Fox soon learned to run using an artificial leg, and by 1979 he was able to complete a marathon (26.2 miles [42 km]). A few months later he decided to run across Canada in order to raise money for cancer research. His run, which he called the Marathon of Hope, began in Saint John’s, Nfld., on April 12, 1980” (Britannica). Furthermore, Terry granted hope to everyone while still having a personal touch on every individual. The quote states an example of such passionate encouragement. If you’re going through something like this, you may look up to Terry and your future won't seem so scary because of the way he pushed through his problem positively. Learning how to walk was an important step for him, but as stated, he also learned how to run which was an important step for the greater good. Walking was a personal way for him to live a comfortable life, and by learning how to run, he raised money for the general people. He knew that this form of ambition was important to him. The marathon wasn’t just any run, but a marathon of hope. He wanted to do the impossible to spread a certain type of inspiration, which showed he cared for the people. Through him going through the effects of cancer, Terry came out of the other end strong and achieved more than what he may have done if he never went through this experience. Fox positively adapted, and traveled through every difficult trial and tribulation that came his way. He never became resentful and hateful, but rather turned that anger into something that would help the world.

In addition to his hopeful mindset, Fox also showed how one can be selfless while also being in the spotlight. During his marathon, many companies offered him money. He didn’t want the cause to be focused on him and how much money he could get, but he wanted the focus to be on the real issue: “They said no to every endorsement, to every offer of a donation that had some strings attached. Every cent was to go to cancer research. That was Terry’s intention from the beginning of his run and it would continue forever after. If you give, your gift is pure charity, a gift from the heart, not one that benefits a company. No one was to profit from Terry’s run, ever” (Scrivener). This selfless man wouldn’t accept a dime for himself. After losing so many things in his young life, he didn’t fill his sadness with money, but “every cent” was given in hopes of saving someone else's life. His intention from the beginning was to not gain a profit from this. He didn’t want to scam people to become a millionaire. All of the money being offered to him was rejected for the profit of others. He was humble even while he was getting all of the attention. He felt like a regular guy: “People were calling me a hero and looking up to me and thinking so much of me, but I really feel I'm no different. I've got nothing that can't be acquired by anybody. I really feel that each person has to believe that they're of importance. If everybody felt that way, that their vote or their belief counted, then the accumulation of it all will have an effect” (Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). Fox never boasted about his fame and how much of hero he was to the world. Instead, he was selfless and focused on others. Terry switched the attention to the everyday person and believed that everyone deserved the kind of fame he received. By looking at the quote, you can tell that Fox only talked about himself for a few sentences, then immediately switched back to the people again. His desire for everyone to gain the attention was truly selfless. Fox could have used his power for his riches, or as egotism, but instead he incorporated the idea that making others happy before one’s self is more rewarding than anything else.

Statue of Terry Fox in Ottawa, CanadaDickbauch [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]All in all, Terry Fox was a true Canadian hero who spread hope for the greater good, and always put others before himself. His adulthood started tragically, which could have easily caused him to give up on living. Terry Fox didn’t think like this, he gave the gift of hope and switched the world’s attention on others. From this, inspiration blossomed and affected people to become the best they can be. He showed people that they can do whatever they want, because he did whatever he wanted with his own personal disability.  Regardless if it’s something physical or mental that’s holding you back, you will become inspired to continue by looking into his story. He fought for a cause and “...his fundraiser for cancer research... raised more than $360-million worldwide” (Harris). The everyday person might see that Fox did this and be inspired to do anything they put their mind to too. Fox didn’t pity himself, and think he was never going to achieve anything after he lost his leg. Rather, he inspired everyone by running a marathon, and soon after raised money for the very cause that took his leg. He truly displayed to the world his inspiring and extraordinary heroic traits. Not everyone can be as great as a person as Fox was, but if we continue to try as a society; perhaps someday we may be at least a fraction of a person he was.

Works Cited

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Britannica, Inc., 19 Apr. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Terry-Fox

ELLISON, JENNY. "A "Unifying Influence on Our Nation" : Making and Remaking the

Meaning of Terry Fox." Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 49, no. 3, Fall 2015, pp. 170-190. EBSCOhost search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=117067707&site=ehost-live.

Harris, Michael. "A man, a myth and no logo." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada], 16 Sept. 2005,

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MacQueen, Ken. "THE RELENTLESS TERRY FOX. (Cover Story)." Maclean's, vol. 118, no.

14, 04 Apr. 2005, pp. 22-26. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16585369&site=ehost-live.

Scrivener, Leslie. Terry Fox: His Story. M & S, 2000.

“Terry Fox." Contemporary Heroes and Heroines, vol. 1, Gale, 1990. Biography In Context,

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