Terry fox

Terry Fox

To me, a hero is someone who helps others, always putting them first. Terry Fox is this kind of person. Although he had cancer and his leg was amputated, he still wanted to help others fight the horrible disease of cancer. He did this by running across Canada to raise money for cancer research. Every day, he ran across Canada to find people and sponsors who would help out his fantastic Marathon of Hope. This would help other people in need. Terry was a wonderful person who always had high spirits and a wonderful personality.

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver. Sadly, in 1977, he was diagnosed with bone cancer and found out that he had to have his leg amputated. Two days before the amputation, Terry heard about a man who could still run, even with his leg amputated.

Terry Fox monument

While in the hospital, Terry was saddened by seeing all of the other suffering patients, but he was inspired and decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He would call his journey the Marathon Of Hope. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 15,373 kilometres, Terry was forced to stop running due to the cancer spreading throughout his lungs. The entire nation was saddened. Terry Fox passed away on June 28, 1981, at age 22. In memory of this wonderful person, every year all the schools throughout Canada hold an annual run called the Terry Fox Run. The first run was held in 1981 and attracted more than 300,000 people across Canada. Altogether, everyone raised $3.5 million for cancer research. Since then, more than $360 million has been raised in Terry's name. The annual run is held every September, usually the second Saturday following Labour Day. All of this happened because of one man who changed many people’s lives.

Since Terry began his Marathon Of Hope, more people are running to raise money for cancer research and the patients with cancer, and now even less people are fighting the horrible disease of cancer. In May 2002, a monument of Terry was built to recognize Terry’s courage to help other people even when he had a disease himself. This monument was made in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was made near where he had to stop his run. As Terry said in 1980: “ If you’ve given a dollar, you are a part of the Marathon Of Hope.”